PRCA announces new sponsor Good Ride
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Good Ride, a fashionable casual clothing and accessory line, has become a new PRCA and Wrangler National Finals Rodeo sponsor, announced Sean Daniels, vice president, PRCA Properties. Good Ride clothing and accessories fall in between traditional Western clothing and high-fashion street wear.

The creative force behind the line is Florida fine jewelry designer Hannah Casper, who grew up competing in horse shows. Casper, along with business partner Lisa King, feature clothing and accessories for those who enjoy activities such as rodeo, riding motorcycles, surfing, boating and ocean fishing. The name for the company comes from the expression "Oh man, you had a 'good ride,'" in reference to riding bulls, horses or a wave. Items in the line include T-shirts, sweatshirts, shirts, caps, jewelry, decals and temporary tattoos. The full Good Ride line will be launched in December in Las Vegas. Plans are also in the works for a Good Ride store. To learn more about Good Ride, visit their Web site, www.goodridelife.com.

Plenty of highlights from Heartland ProRodeo Championships
WACO, Texas — A steer wrestler punched his ticket to Las Vegas, records were broken and a bull rider won two rounds. All that and the Heartland ProRodeo Championships are only on day four of a nine-day run at the Heart O' Texas Fair Complex.

More than 200 contestants, who qualified by competing in the Heartland ProRodeo Series, are taking part in the Heartland finale. The Series consists of PRCA rodeos with committee purses of $30,000 or less.

Steer wrestler Matt Reeves, in 16th place in the PRCA World Standings, earned the money he needed to unofficially move past 15th-place Gabe Ledoux and get the final steer wrestling spot in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Dec. 3-12 in Las Vegas. Reeves needed about $1,800 to surpass Ledoux, and the Pampa, Texas, cowboy turfed his steer in 4.3 seconds on his first run and pocketed $2,200 when he tied Casey Martin for first place in the round.

Saddle bronc rider Wade Sundell from Boxholm, Iowa, set a Heartland Championship record with an 89-point ride on Whiskey of Universal Rodeo on Oct. 11. The mark broke the previous record of 88 set by Cody DeMoss, from Heflin, La., during the opening-night performance on Oct. 9. The tie-down roping record was broken twice the same evening. Adam Gray from Seymour, Texas, first broke the record with a 7.6-second run, and then Hunter Herrin, from Apache, Okla., improved on Gray's time with a 7.5-second run. Sundell, DeMoss, Gray and Herrin have each mathematically locked up spots in the Top 15 for 2009 and are adding to their earnings.

Bull rider Bandy Murphy has collected two go-round buckles and paychecks while in Waco. The Morgan Mill, Texas, cowboy scored 90 points on David Bailey Rodeo's Billionaire on Oct. 9 and then scored 84 points on Classic Pro Rodeo's Smoke Oct. 10, to win both rounds and pocket more than $5,000.

The Heartland ProRodeo Championships conclude with the finals, set for 7 p.m. (CT) Oct. 17. The Heartland ProRodeo Steer Roping Finals are at 8 a.m., Oct. 13, also at the Heart O' Texas Fair Complex. Defending Heartland Finals steer roping champion Cash Myers, two-time and reigning World Champion Scott Snedecor, reigning World Champion All-Around Cowboy Trevor Brazile and 18-time World Champion Guy Allen are among the deep and talented field set to compete in Waco. The Heartland Final is the final competition of the season, which can impact the 2009 PRCA World Standings. The 51st Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is Dec. 3-12, in Las Vegas, and the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping is Nov. 13-14 in Guthrie, Okla.

Hermanson among winners at Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo
MINOT, N.D. — Cole Hermanson rode four bulls, including winning the third and fourth rounds, to claim the Dodge Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo, presented by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, held Oct. 8-11. His high-marked ride was 87 points on Korkow Rodeo's Red Neck in the final round. The Mandan, N.D., cowboy, along with the other average winners and the top year end qualifiers, have secured spots in the national championships in the spring.

The Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo is April 7-10 in Pocatello, Idaho.

"It feels great," Hermanson told the Minot Daily News. "You work toward this all year, and to finally have it happen, it's great."

Other average winners were Joe Gunderson of Agar, S.D. (bareback riding); Clay Cowan of Highmore, S.D. (steer wrestling); Mark Brockmueller of Irene, S.D., and Dustin Harris of O'Neill, Neb.; (team roping) J.J. Elshere of Quinn, S.D. (saddle bronc riding); Barry Blair of Ekalaka, Mont. (tie-down roping) and Lisa Lockhart of Oelrichs, S.D. (barrel racing). Complete results from the Badlands Finals are on ProRodeo.com. In-depth coverage will appear in the Oct. 30 ProRodeo Sports News, THE Voice of ProRodeo.

Ellensburg, Puyallup and Omaha: Updated TV information
Key competitions in the homestretch of the ProRodeo season will be televised in October and November. Coverage of the Ellensburg (Wash.) Rodeo will be re-aired at noon (ET) on ESPN Classic on Oct. 17 and Nov. 15. The Ellensburg Rodeo, held Sept. 4-7, was the final stop of the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour presented by Justin Boots.

ProRodeo fans can also relive the excitement of the Justin Boots Playoffs, held Sept. 11-13 in Puyallup, Wash., by watching the broadcast at 7 p.m. on Oct. 18. Coverage of the Justin Boots Championships, held Sept. 24-26 in Omaha, Neb., will follow at 8 p.m.

Puyallup's Justin Boots Playoffs will re-air at noon Oct. 24 on ESPN Classic, at 11 a.m. Oct. 25 on ESPN2 and at noon Nov. 21 on ESPN Classic.

The re-air dates for Omaha's Justin Boots Championships are noon Nov. 1 on ESPN Classic and at noon Nov. 29 on ESPN Classic.

TV information is posted on ProRodeo.com. (Note: Times are subject to change by ESPN and broadcast times are listed in Eastern Time.)

Reeves, Ryan among 2010 Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame inductees
World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider Tom Reeves and Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund Board member Nolan Ryan will be two of six members of the 2010 Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame induction class.

Joining Reeves and Ryan in the Hall are the late James Jennings, Dean Smith, the Warvell family and Dr. James "Red" Duke Jr., the winner of the Rick Smith "Spirit of Texas" Award.

Reeves, an 18-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier, won the NFR average title in 1993 and a world championship in 2001. After retiring from competition in 2005, he entered the stock contracting business and became the coach of the Ranger (Texas) College rodeo team, which he led to a College National Finals Rodeo team title in 2007. Reeves won the ProRodeo Hall of Fame Mentoring Award the same year and was inducted into the Hall in 2008.

Ryan, who has raised Beefmaster cattle since 1972, started the Nolan Ryan Foundation in 1990, which benefits students in Ranch Management programs. He is a member of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and the American Breeders Association, and he served on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission from 1995-2001. Ryan, a Hall of Fame pitcher, is a member of the Major League Baseball All-Century Team, and is currently president of the Texas Rangers.

Jennings was the announcer at the Mesquite Championship Rodeo for 35 years, and was a member of the RCA, PRCA and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He was also an accomplished author; his book, "Touring Texas Towns&and some that ain't," was in its third printing at the time of his passing in 2004.

The induction ceremony, scheduled for Jan. 10, is one of the premier events leading up to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, Jan. 15-Feb. 7.

CPRA announces awards, CFR selections
CALGARY, Alberta — The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association has announced its 2009 award winners for Stock of the Year, Timed Event Horses of the Year, and the elected personnel for the 2009 Canadian Finals Rodeo, set for Nov. 11-15 in Edmonton, Alberta.

Voted on by members of the CPRA, these annual awards recognize the top bucking stock, timed-event horses and the year's top stock contractor, as well as the Specialty Act and Announcer of the Year.

The Calgary Stampede has been voted Stock Contractor of the Year, and swept the bucking stock awards for 2009, the first such occurrence since 1983, when Vold Rodeo Ltd. won all three stock awards. Calgary Stampede's L-40 Lynx Mountain picked up the Saddle Bronc Horse of the Year title for the first time. The mare has been selected for the CFR twice and made trips to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas from 2007-08.

Another Stampede horse, but one that needs little introduction, has earned the Bareback Horse of the Year title for the sixth time. The stud G-65 Grated Coconut was previously honored with the title in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008. Runner-up was Grated Coconut's son, M-32 Majestic Rocket.

The black, brockle-faced bull C-301 Speed Dial, also from the Calgary Stampede, was voted the 2009 Canadian Bull of the Year.

A record has been broken in the timed-event end of the arena. Greg Cassidy's horse, Willy, was selected Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year for the sixth time, ousting Hall of Fame inductee Wes Zieffle's outstanding horse, Twist, from his long-time status as the steer wrestling horse who had won the most Horse of the Year titles.

Pincher, owned by Chad Johnson of Del Bonita, Alberta, was named Tie-Down Roping Horse of the Year for the first time.

Reiner, owned by Okotoks, Alberta, cowgirl Deb Renger, has been given the award for Barrel Racing Horse With the Most Heart. It is Reiner's first time receiving the title.

The Specialty Act of the Year award went to Ash Cooper of Senlac, Saskatchewan, while the Announcer of the Year award went to Les McIntyre of Claresholm, Alberta, a first-time winner.

Heading to the CFR are pick-up men Gary Rempel of Fort Shaw, Mont., making his record-breaking 12th appearance at the Finals, and Jason Resch of Fort Assiniboine, Alberta, who makes his third straight appearance.

Bullfighting cousins Scott and Jesse Byrne, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, are in the arena together for the first time at the CFR. For Scott, of Wainwright, Alberta, this is his eighth consecutive CFR appearance. This year's alternate is bullfighter David Sandilands of Esterhazy, Saskatchewan. Once again, Brenda Vold and Maxine Baird will be the CFR timers.