December 2008

Dec. 17, 2008

The 2008 season is now in the books and I am thrilled to be able to add another world title to my resume. What a great feeling it is to have another gold buckle and to be able to add the NFR average title to my list of accomplishments is icing on the cake.

I am now back home in California and trying to fight off a cold that I got after the Finals. All in all, it was a good Finals for me. I wasn’t happy with my times in the fifth and sixth rounds but was able to come back and produce good times in the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth rounds. Looking back I couldn’t have asked for much more this year. True, I left some money on the ground during the year at the various rodeos and at the Finals, but in the end, I was able to fight through that and end up on top with $242,018, a new PRCA steer wrestling earnings record.

I didn’t sleep real well on Friday night as I was thinking about what I had to do in the final round to win the world and the average titles. I tried to stay busy on Saturday to keep my mind off of it all. This was my sixth trip to the finals but never before had I really been in contention for the average. In the past, I have always been more about being fast and winning rounds. However, this year I might not have been as fast but was consistently placing and adding to my overall total. Before this year, I had never placed higher than fifth in the average, so heading into the final round winning the average was definitely one of my goals as well.

Once Dean (Gorsuch) went I knew I had won the world and if I could get a decent time I would also win the average. As a result, I was able to take a deep breath before I nodded my head and was able to run that final steer with no stress and pressure. People have asked me how this title feels compared to the first and I think this one was more stressful. It seems like the older I get the more I start thinking about what I have to do to win and that can wear a guy out.

It was tough to see Wade (Sumpter) go out of the NFR so early with a torn pectoral muscle. I felt sorry for him as I know how hard he had worked for this opportunity and to go out like that it was tough. He was one of our fiercest competitors and I wish that it could have been a battle until the end, but it wasn’t meant to be. I wish him the best of luck in his recovery as I know how it feels, as I tore my pectoral muscle in 2005.

Being able to ride Curtis Cassidy’s horse Willie this year was a big key to my success. That horse is amazing and always honest. He is a horse that allows you to win run after run. He always has a good start and can make up for you if you get out late. He is good in small arenas or large arenas making him a very special horse. Also a lot of credit goes to Curtis for being such a great hazer all year long. There isn’t any better hazer than Curtis at the Thomas and Mack as that is one of the toughest places to haze because there is so little room but he does it to perfection. He was definitely a busy guy this year between hazing and competing.

My son Cade got to experience his very first NFR and he was a trooper through it all making every performance. I am looking forward to spending some time at home with him before we hit the road again. Watching him try to open packages should be a lot of fun at Christmas.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Enjoy being with family and friends during this Holiday season.

Thanks for being a part of my world title run and look forward to you joining me again in 2009.

Until next year,

Luke

Two-time PRCA World Champion Steer Wrestler

Branquinho wrestles down another rodeo world title

By Raiza Canelon / Staff Writer , Santa Maria Times

Dreams of winning the coveted gold buckle came true — for the second time — for Luke Branquinho of Los Alamos when he won the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s world steer-wrestling championship Saturday at the 50th annual Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.

“Going in this year I was more focused and I started practicing early,” Branquinho said after the win. “I also had a great partner, Jason Miller (last year’s champion), who came out and practiced with me. We helped each other along, and that had a lot to do with our success,” Branquinho said.

Branquinho, 28, finished second in the 10th round of the 10-day event to Trevor Knowles with a 3.7-second run, clinching the Wrangler title based on his average score over all rounds, securing his second gold buckle in four years (he also won the world title in 2004).

“I knew going into the 10th round what had to happen and how much I had to average to win. With rodeo, things can happen or go wrong, and once I saw my steer I knew I could do it,” Branquinho said.

During the 10 days of competition, Branquinho added, he focused on the “head catch,” which is the transition from the horse to the steer.

“My main focus was towards the end of finals, and tipping over the steers as fast as possible. If you have a loose head catch, they can get away from you and time is lost,” he said.

Branquinho also won something else important this year, as he finished the season with a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) record $242,018 in earnings. The second-place money winner, 2006 world champion Dean Gorsuch, finished $70,000 behind with $171,130.

Branquinho is also the first steer wrestler to win multiple world titles since Ote Berry in 1990 and ’91, according to the PRCA.

“I have had as much fun as I ever have winning the second world championship. I’ve worked hard since I started steer wrestling before high school.

“If you strive for the best you’ll become the best,” Branquinho said.

In the three weeks before the finals, Branquinho and Miller spent hours in the arena at Branquinho’s ranch, practicing mentally and physically for the event.

“We talked about it, we did ground work, practiced with the horses — everything we could to gear up for the finals,” he said.

His horses were also a key factor in winning, he said, and in hopes of winning the title again next year, he has already booked a rodeo for Jan. 11 in Denver.

“I want to win the title as much as possible until I retire, but that won’t be for a long time. I hope to also teach my son steer wrestling, but if he wants to be a left-handed pitcher for the Major Leagues, that’s okay with me, too,” Branquinho said.

He also reminisced about his beginnings in steer wrestling, when he would get home from baseball practice and his dad, John, and mom, Brandy, would stay up until 10 p.m. running chutes and gathering cattle.

“If you don’t enjoy what you do, there’s something wrong. I love it, and my family has been there 100 percent,” he said.

Branquinho lives in Los Alamos with his wife Lindsay, who is a barrel racer, and son Mark Cade.