ProRodeo Sports News - August 6, 2021

Howard also produced tie-down ropings, barrel races, steer wrestlings and cuttings in his arena into the 1980s. He is survived by his son Bowie and daughters Becky Watkins and Suzanne Cooper. He was preceded in death by his son Berwin Jr. and wife, Judy. Funeral services will be at Lake Ridge Chapel and Memorial in Lubbock Aug. 7 at 10 a.m. (CDT). Friends are welcome to attend, and the family requests donations may be made to the Justin Cowboys Crisis Fund in his honor. CASSANDRA (SANDI) KENNEY Cassandra (Sandi) Kenney, a former PRCA secretary who was the arena secretary at

they had three boys.

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In 1976, they moved to Yuba City, and Sandi began working at Rideout Memorial Hospital where she worked for 27 years. In 1984, Sandi married Bill Kenney. They spent many weekends and holidays working rodeos around the country with Sandi working as a PRCA rodeo secretary, including working the NFR and National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Pocatello, Idaho. In 2005, Kenney moved to Sutter North and became the clinical nurse manager of the newOutpatient Surgery Center in Yuba City. She worked there until her retirement in 2017. Putting together the team and managing the outpatient surgery center was one of Kenney’s proudest accomplishments in her career. Most recently, Kenney was a stylist for Cabi Clothing. She was an incredible mother and grandmother with a loving, giving and generous heart. Kenney was preceded in death by her mother, Phyllis (Col. Clure) Smith, and father, Albert (Catherine) Rough, and sister Jean Marie Rough. She is survived by her sons Stephen (Kelly) Danna, Dominic Danna and Joseph (Shannon) Danna; grandchildren Lauren Danna, Sam Danna and Shaley Danna; step-grandchildren Cody DeLozier and Lexy DeLozier; sisters Shari (Roy) Shannon, Stephani (Brian) Howell and Christine Rough Baschon; and brothers Robert Rough and Scott Smith. Gifts may be made in memory of Sandi Kenney to support cancer care at Adventist Health and Rideout Cancer Center. Please make checks payable to: The Rideout Foundation, 414 G. Street #130Marysville, CA 95901. ProRodeo Hall of Fame saddle bronc rider Billy Etbauer rode her twice in his career, both times at the National Finals Rodeo. In 2003, he had a 93-point ride on her to set an arena record, and a year later, in Round 10, he won his final world title on her, again with a 93-point ride. Marty Melvin Scholarship established at College As a nine-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier, the late Marty Melvin knew a lot about winning and how to appreciate a winner. Now, to help keep the longstanding winning tradition of the Weatherford (Texas) College rodeo program going strong, his widow, Judy, has given the Weatherford College Foundation a $10,000 gift to create a permanent scholarship endowment in his honor.

BERWIN (BUTTONS) HOWARD

Berwin “Buttons” Howard, a PRCA Gold Card member who qualified for the National

Finals Rodeo in tie-down roping from 1967-70, passed away July 30 in Lubbock, Texas. Howard was 83. Born on June 13, 1938, Howard carried a rope and rode a horse as soon

Howard

the 1996 National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, passed away May 28. She was 76. Kenney was born June 28, 1944, in Clovis, Calif. She was born into an Air Force family and grew up in various places around the world, including

as he could walk. He followed the path of junior, collegiate, amateur rodeos and the Rodeo Cowboys Association. Howard finished a career-best sixth in the 1969 world standings. On his birthday in 1971, Howard was involved in a tragic roping accident while practicing at his brother Paul’s arena. The rope got around his neck with his horse on one end, a calf on the other and Howard in the middle. This caused serious injuries, leaving him with a damaged trachea and compromised vision. At the time of the accident, he was sitting third in the tie-down roping RCA standings. After recovering, he finished building one of the first private indoor arenas in Texas, one of the first electronic barriers and team ropings with 600 to 800 teams beginning in the early 1970s. He also furnished roping calves for the NFR.

Kenney

Bangor, Maine, Emlenton, Pa., Alexandria, Va., Montevideo, Uruguay, Sacramento, Calif., and Bryan, Texas. She graduated from El Camino High School in Sacramento and went on to O’Conner Hospital School of Nursing in San Jose, Calif., where she graduated and became a registered nurse on Aug. 1, 1966. While working at O’Conner, Kenney married her first husband, Steve Danna Sr., and Cool Alley honored at Last Chance Stampede On July 29, a special horse was honored at the Last Chance Stampede Arena in Helena, Mont. Cool Alley, a bucking horse that was part of the Kesler Championship Rodeo, owned and operated by Greg and Judy Kesler, now has its name on the arena at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds, home of the Last Chance Stampede. The horse was the PRCA Saddle Bronc Horse of the Year in 2004, 2008- 09. Cool Alley also was the top bareback horse at the 2001 National Finals Rodeo and the top saddle bronc horse at the 2004 NFR. In 2004, the 1,600-pound brown mare bucked off 21 of 22 saddle bronc riders in the regular season, with only ProRodeo Hall of Famer Glen O’Neill making the whistle.

BRIEFS

PRCA NOTES Cowboy Christmas to open a day earlier The Cowboy Channel Cowboy

Christmas will open on Wednesday, Dec. 1 – one day earlier than originally scheduled – from 5-10 p.m. (PST) for a special preview shopping experience and official tree lighting. The show will continue daily at the Las Vegas Convention Center Dec. 2-11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. After the opening date and ceremony, The Cowboy Channel Cowboy Christmas will run concurrently with the Wrangler NFR over the next 10 days and feature more than 500,000 square feet of show floor and slightly fewer than 350 exhibitors from across the U.S.

ProRodeo Sports News 8/6/2021

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