ProRodeo Sports News - Sept. 4, 2020

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Bareback riders to compete in front of Yellowstone cast

BY THE NUMBERS 14 The record number of team titles the Texas Circuit Finals Rodeo since the NCFR began in 1987. Texas won crowns in 1994-96, 1998, 2000-01, 2003, 2006, 2010, 2013, 2015-16, 2018-19. The 2020 RAM NCFR takes place in Greeley, Colo., Sept. 10-13. 96 The record score on the Xtreme Bulls Tour, set by J.W. Harris on Flying U Rodeo’s Circuit has won at the RAM National Bulls Tour Finale is in Nephi, Utah, Sept. 19. $21K The amount of money Wright earned between Aug. 26-29. The 2017 PRCA world champion earned his money at three stops, including picking up $16,923 at the Xtreme Broncs Tour Finale in Rapid City, S.D., Aug. 27. ($21,287) saddle bronc rider Ryder Werewolf in Reno, Nev., in 2006. The Division 1 Xtreme

The cast of the hit TV show Yellowstone , which airs on Paramount Network, will get an up-close look at some of the best ProRodeo bareback riders at the Yellowstone Riggin Rally, Sept. 7. This $30,000, one-day event will pit the Top 24 bareback riders in the PRCA | RAM World Standings in a long-go and short-go format in front of the Yellowstone cast on Labor Day, giving competitors the chance to compete in Darby, Mont., where some of the show is filmed. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” PRCA CEO George Taylor said. “These cowboys get to perform for the cast and crew of one of TV’s most popular shows, while in turn having a chance to make significant strides in qualifying for the Wrangler NFR.” The cast, which has been put in a bubble of sorts during shooting for the fourth season, will see PRCA bareback riders who’ve competed in past National Finals Rodeos and some who are headed to this year’s Wrangler NFR.

With only three weeks remaining in the regular season following the Yellowstone Riggin Rally, the event will prove a great opportunity for bareback riders trying to make the Finals. “This is such a cool deal for everyone involved,” said 2002 PRCA Steer Wrestling World Champion Sid Steiner, who is helping put on the Rally. “I’m excited to be a part of it and really honored to have had the chance to help put this together,” he said. The Yellowstone Riggin Rally will premier on RFD-TV and The Cowboy Channel, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. (ET). It will also stream on the PRCA on Cowboy Channel Plus App at the same time. The event will re-air on The Cowboy Channel and RFD-TV at 7 p.m. that night, and on The Cowboy Channel, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. According to Deadline.com, the Season 3 premiere of Yellowstone across four networks drew 6.6 million total viewers earlier this summer, making it the most-watched cable premiere of 2020.

Pickup man Rex Bugbee passes

Rex Bugbee, a veteran pickup man who worked some of the PRCA’s biggest rodeos, passed away Aug. 25. He was 65. Funeral services were held Sept. 3, at the Medicine Lodge (Kan.) Rodeo Arena. Bugbee, who had worked as a pickup man for Frontier Rodeo Company since 2005, was serving as a pickup man

Bugbee was selected to pick up at some of ProRodeo’s major events such as Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days twice and RFD-TV’s The American in Arlington, Texas. He also worked the Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo multiple times. He served as the arena usher at the 2019 Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping in Mulvane, Kan. When he was selected to work the

with two-time National Finals Rodeo pickup man Shawn “Too Tall” Calhoun during a non-PRCA sanctioned bronc match in Guymon, Okla., Aug. 20. During the event, Bugbee and Calhoun were involved in an accident in the arena. While Calhoun walked away with injuries, Bugbee was transported to the trauma unit for treatment in Lubbock, Texas, where he passed away Aug. 25. “Rex was a heck of a hand and a great friend,” Calhoun told ProRodeo Sports News . “If you ever met Rex, he was a friend for life. He didn’t meet a stranger and never had something bad to say about anybody. You knew where you stood with him because if he said it, he meant what he said.” Bugbee

NFSR, he told the PRCA Media Department that the friendships he’s made through work and attending a lot of rodeos are what he loves most about his job. “The best thing about the NFSR is that I don’t have to travel far, it’s not far from my house,” Bugbee said. “I’m going to try and stay on top of my game and do the best job that I can at the event.” At Frontier Rodeo Company, Bugbee also helped on the company’s ranch in Freedom, Okla. Rex and his wife, Teri, made their home in Medicine Lodge, Kan. They have two sons, Josh and Jay. Josh and his wife, Kim, have a daughter, Ila, and a son, Tripp, making Rex and Teri grandparents.

ProRodeo Sports News 9/4/2020

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