September 2007

September 25, 2007

With the beginning of Fall comes the end of the 2007 rodeo season this year. This is the last week for all of us cowboys and cowgirls to get to the last rodeos of the season and the last chance for those on the bubble to either earn a berth to the NFR or not. Luckily, I have had a great year and I am not stressing whether I will be making the Finals or not. It seems a little weird to me that the year is almost over. It just doesn’t seem possible that another year has come and gone.

The last time I wrote I was getting ready to head to Puyallup, Wash., for the second Ariat Playoffs. I barely missed making the four-man final in Caldwell, Idaho, back in August, so I was hoping to improve on that in Puyallup. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned for me but I am pleased to say that my traveling partner Billy Bugenig won the event and picked up a check worth $15,187. This was a huge win for him to not only get him a spot in the third Ariat Playoff in Omaha (Neb.) but it moved him up in the standings. With his performance in Puyallup, it gave him a sure shot at making the NFR for the first time. He had said before Puyallup, that he needed to win about $10,000. With the extra surge in Puyallup, Billy has climbed the ladder to 15th in the ProRodeo Cowboys World Standings and will look to add to his total this weekend in Omaha. He is currently fifth in the Tour standings so he is looking good for the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour Championship in Dallas, Nov. 9-11. I am happy for him and looking forward to seeing how it all shakes out.

After Puyallup, we went to Pendleton, Ore. I was able to collect a check in the second round after stopping the clock in 6.2 seconds. For those that haven’t ever been to Pendleton, it is like no other. The rodeo is held on a football field, so we are wrestling steers on the grass, which adds a whole different dynamic to the event. From there we went to Albuquerque for the New Mexico State Fair and Rodeo. I celebrated my 27th birthday on Monday the 17th. It was a pretty uneventful day. We were in Albuquerque that day, so we went to dinner and then I hit the sack early since slack was early the next morning. It was just another day on the rodeo road for me.

I got back from Albuquerque and have just been doing things around the house. I will be in Omaha this weekend. The first round is Thursday the 27th and the second round is Friday the 28th. From there the top eight in the average will compete in the semifinals on Saturday. I will report back on how things go for me in the Cornhusker state.

With that said I better get to the practice pen. Be sure to catch Billy’s winning run in Puyallup on Fox Sports Network. For dates and times in your area, log onto www.prorodeotour.com. For the latest on the ProRodeo Cowboys World Standings be sure to visit www.prorodeo.com.

Until next time,

Luke