Rodeo: Practice, weather hinder area timed-event cowboys

By Jim Thompson , Special to the Journal | Thursday, January 18, 2007

Previous Page

Share

• del.icio.us
• Digg
• NewsVine
• Fark

Print

Email

SPEARFISH - With bragging rights to bronc riders in pro rodeo firmly established in the Dakotas, a nagging question results: Why are there so few qualifiers, let alone champions in the timed events?

Through the years Texas has had 37 champion calf ropers crowned, Oklahoma 15 while South Dakota has just two. Among steer wrestling champions, Oklahoma has 20, South Dakota one, and team ropers? Forget about it! North and South Dakota have none, Montana and Wyoming one each, while there are 37 from California and 35 from Arizona.

Why the disparity? Paul Tierney of Oral, the 1979 calf roping champion and 1980 all-around in the PRCA, says simply, the lack of drive, desire and dream.

Tierney roped against some of the best of his time and considers Roy Cooper as the best he ever faced. Was his northern upbringing a problem against the Okie? Not if you consider results. Tierney matched Cooper three times in their hay days, and won twice.

Tierney says that for young people of today to compete in the timed events nationally, they must change as change is needed and as level of competition changes. He added that luck also plays a big part in it, getting the right break at the right time.

Does he see anyone in the future who might compete against the "big boys?" You bet, and they're named Tierney, sons Paul David and Jesse.

Talking to Troy Pruitt, the 1990 champion calf roper in the PRCA, was simpler. Weather is the reason.

"Shoot, below the Kansas border there's jackpots twice a week all year long," Pruitt said. "I can't remember more than five in all the time I've lived in South Dakota or Nebraska."

His own son Riley, 15, is a freshman competing against high school competition already in the calf roping and team roping. Pruitt says the problem with competing at the national level is still simple - weather.

"Up here we have to feed cattle all winter. And with those of ranching background, there isn't time to practice 'til spring, while the kids in Texas have a jackpot about every 15 minutes all year long," he said.

How about attitude?

"Nope," says Pruitt. "There's lots of guys with drive and determination, just not enough time to practice."

When asked about up-and-comers, Pruitt said that Justin Schofield of Flandreau is pretty good, and with the right horses might make the finals someday soon.

Pruitt knows some of what he says. He was raised in southeastern South Dakota near Lennox, attended college at Dickinson State in North Dakota and now lives with his wife and family in northwestern Nebraska. He says he started going hard at a finals qualifying in 1983 and didn't make it until '89.

After that he was a lock at Las Vegas, qualifying for eight straight years, winning the title in 1990 over Jerry Jetton by less than $3,500. He also was runner-up in '93, the year he won the average at the NFR. He made his last appearance at the National Finals in 1996 and now spends his time team roping with his son and helping his wife raise dogs.

Frank Thompson was raised in the heart of bull dogging country, Harding County. And though he and wife Dawn and their kids live in Cheyenne, Wyo., South Dakota lays claim to him as native son for his world championship in 2000.

Thmopson worked hard at making rodeo his full time job. He won the South Dakota high school title, won a couple of regional college championships at Central Wyoming College in Riverton and even won the average in the team roping at the College National Finals once.

Thompson made the National Finals in the steer wrestling four times, the first time in '97 before "winning the world" in 2000. He also finished fifth in 2003, and qualified for a final try at another title in 2004.

Since then, he's gone to the tour rodeos and the big ones around the area but has pretty much enjoyed watching his kids grow up on their Wyoming ranch.

When asked why such a dearth of doggers winning world titles, Thompson said, "I've been thinking about that some"...it must be just opportunity to practice. I darned sure know it isn't heart or 'try' or talent. ... It's just that the weather is against us for practice and for keeping practice steers and roping calves healthy in bad weather."

When Bobby Harris attended fourth grade at a Wyoming country school the kids were asked to write or draw their dream. Harris drew a picture of a single cab pickup pulling a one-horse trailer with a sign that read "world champion roper." He realized that dream in 1991 by winning the team roping title.

Harris agrees with Pruitt as far as the roping; weather in the north isn't conducive to year-round practice.

His dad Nick, told him, "Bobby, if you're going to beat the best, you've got to compete against the best!" And Bobby, as a teenager found that team ropers were in California and Arizona, so that's where he went.

It's what they do today.

"The Tryan boys left Montana to live in Texas, and Clay won the world in 2005," Harris said. And when he won the world title 15 years ago, he and Harris lived almost full time in Texas.

Tierney in his hey day, Harris said, lived in his pickup and stayed a lot with John Rothwell in Texas, so he could get to more ropings.

Harris rodeos smart today. Living in Ree Heights, he puts on about 20 roping schools each year and still found time to qualify for the national steer roping finals in 2006 at Hobbs, N.M. And he did it by entering only four ropings.

Suffice it to say, there's no absence of world champion-caliber cowboys in our north country. Its just that, as far at the timed events of rodeo are concerned, the farther south you live the better your odds for world class acclaim.

Jim Thompson, a veteran rodeo announcer, can be heard on the daily network radio talk show "Live with Jim Thompson" across North and South Dakota each weekday at 1 p.m. Locally he can be heard on KBHB 810 AM.