Super Bowl of Rodeo
Texas cowboys, cowgirls headed to Finals competition

By LYNN MONTGOMERY | East Texas Edition

Dec. 2, 2004 - Texas will be represented well as cowboys and cowgirls across the state rope, wrestle, and ride into the 47th Annual Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas, Nev., Dec. 3-12.

Bareback

Sitting in the No.1 position from Canyon is Will Lowe. Lowe is the defending Bareback World Champion. His 2004 highlights include a win at the Mineral Wells PRCA Rodeo and the Pace Picante ProRodeo Classic in Dallas with an 89-point ride.

Jason Jeter, of Mansfield, finds himself sitting in the third position. This year, Jeter won the Johnson County Sheriff's Posse Rodeo in Cleburne, was co-champion of the Gladewater Round-up, and won the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo.

Bucking out the category is Kaufman's Wes Stevenson, who is in the 15th position. Stevenson, who sustained a severe leg injury in 2000, won the World's "Oldest" Rodeo Prescott (Ariz.) Frontier Days competition.

Steer Wrestling

Only one Texas cowboy wrestled his way into the Finals, but it is a cowboy synonymous with this event. Rope Myers, of Van, is currently in fifth place and approximately $47,000 behind the leader Luke Branquinho.

Team Roping (Heading and Heeling)

Header David Key of Caldwell, along with heeler partner Clay O'Brien Cooper of Glen Rose, are sitting in the No. 2 positions. Highlights for the duo this year include a win at RodeoHouston, and the Somervell County 10th Annual Rodeo in Cooper's hometown of Glen Rose. Cooper's horse, Supai Drifter (Ike), also finished second in the PRCA/AQHA Team Roping Heel Horse of the Year race.

Hereford's Steve Purcella follows Key and is sitting in the No. 3 position. Purcella, for most of the season roped with Oklahoma cowboy Britt Bockius. (He also roped with another Texas finalist Kory Koontz of Sudan.) Purcella and Bockius won the aggregate title at Reno, Nev., and the Cowboy Capital of the World ProRodeo in Stephenville. With Koontz, the pair won the Pioneer Days Rodeo, Clovis, N.M.

Then there's the fourth place duo, who are no strangers in the roping arena. Amarillo's Speed Williams and Llano's Rich Skelton are the 2003 Roping World Champions, and have held the world champion titles since 1997. This year, Texas wins for the duo were Parker County Sheriff's Posse Frontier Days Rodeo in Weatherford and the Rodeo Austin in Austin.

Heeler Allen Bach of Weatherford finds himself in fifth position, with header partner Jake Barnes of Arizona. Bach has qualified to the Wrangler NFR 23 times.

Heeler Kinney Harrell of Brady will be making his first trip to the NFR. Harrell, in sixth place, partnered with several headers this year, but won the Northeast Texas Stampede PRCA Rodeo in Sulphur Springs and the Bell County Youth Fair and Livestock Show and PRCA Rodeo in Belton.

Turtle Powell of Stephenville will be making the Finals a family event, as wife Molly qualified in the barrel racing standings. He, along with California's Monty Joe Peska, comes into the event in eighth place. The duo won the Pace Picante ProRodeo Classic in Dallas with a 4.3-second run in the final round.

Coming into the Finals in ninth place is header Tee Woolman, who normally partners with Kyle Lockett, but, Lockett didn't make the top 15. Woolman's 2004 highlights include induction into the 2004 ProRodeo Hall of Fame, crossed the $2 million mark in career earnings, and his horse Megazord was voted as the PRCA/AQHA Team Roping Head Horse of the Year.

The heeler in ninth place is Kory Koontz of Sudan. Koontz heels for partner Matt Tyler of Dennis. Tyler is in the 10th position. The duo won the Mineral Wells PRCA Rodeo. Koontz competes with diabetes and wears an insulin monitor that automatically gives him insulin when he needs it.

The 13th position heeler is Kirt Jones of Decatur. Jones was a finalist at the Pace Chute-out in Las Vegas with Tee Woolman. He won the 67th Annual Coleman PRCA with Charles Pogue. His horse Ceebars Primevera (Charlie Brown) was finished third in the PRCA/AQHA Team Roping Heeling Horse of the Year.

Wayne Folmer of Justin is in the 14th position. Folmer partners with Trevor Brazile, the 15th place header, of Decatur. The duo won the Beef Empire Days PRCA Rodeo in Garden City, Kan.

Brazile also qualified in the eight position in the tie-down event. He is also setting in the No. 1 position in the All-Around race.

Rounding out the heelers category is Michael Jones of Stephenville. This will be Jones' first trip to the NFR Finals. His partner is Chad Masters of Adams, Tenn.

Saddle Bronc

Utopia's Mike Outhier is the only Texas cowboy that will compete in the Finals' Saddle Bronc division. Outhier, in sixth position, won the Pace Picante ProRodeo Classic in Dallas with an 88-point ride.

Tie-Down

The tie-down race is hot and heavy again this year. An Oklahoman is in first place, but 10 out of 15 cowboys are from Texas.

In second is Stran Smith of Tell. This year, Smith won the all-around title in Gladewater.

Third place belongs to Hockley's Fred Whitfield. Whitfield was inducted into the 2004 ProRodeo Hall of Fame. He also won the tie-down roping at San Antonio.

Cody Ohl of Stephenville is currently in fifth place. Ohl, who is the defending tie-down World Champion, won RodeoHouston and the Walker County Fair and Rodeo in Huntsville.

Decatur's Clint Cooper is sixth. The Cooper name is recognizeable. Clint's dad is hall of fame roper Roy Cooper. Another notable fact - his brother-in-law is Trevor Brazile, who is in eight position.

Seventh place is Monty Lewis of Hereford. This is Lewis' first NFR. His horse IR Still Dry (Ned) was voted the PRCA/AQHA tie-down Roping Horse of the Year.

Navasota's Ricky Canton finds himself in 10th place. Canton won the Somervell County 10th Annual Rodeo in Glen Rose, and the Heart O' Texas Fair and Rodeo in Waco.

Not a stranger to the tie-down event is the No. 11 man, Joe Beaver. Beaver, of Huntsville, won All-around titles at San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo and the West of the Pecos (Texas) Rodeo.

First-time NFR qualifier is No. 12 Cade Swor of Winnie. Swor qualified for the finals by winning the Pace Picante ProRodeo Classic in Dallas.

Another first NFR-timer is 13th place qualifier, Scott Kormos of Teague. Kormos won the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo and the Nacogdoches Pro Rodeo.

Barrel Racing

Eight of the 15 cowgirls heading to Vegas call Texas home, beginning with the lady sitting No. 1, Kelly Kaminski of Bellville. Kaminski was a seventh grade teacher before following her dream to barrel race. This is her third Finals.

Sutherland Springs' Darlene Kasper is in fifth position. Kasper won the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo and the Southwestern International Livestock Show and Rodeo in El Paso. She was also the co-champion of the Heart O' Texas Fair and Rodeo in Waco.

Sixth place belongs to Lufkin's Denise Adams Fea. Fea turned and burned her way to her first NFR by winning events such as the Jasper Lions Benefit Rodeo and the Gladewater Round-up.

Another first time qualifier is Liz Pinkston of Alice. Pinkston won four Texas rodeos including the Pace Picante ProRodeo Classic in Dallas, which moved her from 17th to 8th in the world standings.

Janet Stover of Rusk is in ninth place. Stover, a past World Champion, won three Texas rodeos this year.

Spur's Kelly Maben is 11th. Maben was an elementary teacher before hitting the competitive road.

Twelfth place belongs to eight-time qualifier Molly Powell of Stephenville. Powell will travel to the NFR with husband Turtle, who qualified in team roping.

Jackie Dube of Giddings has qualified for her second NFR. Her current standings are 14th.

Bull Riding

Riding his way to his first NFR and setting second in the standings is Matt Austin of Wills Point. Austin won the Pace Picante Classic in Dallas and the Red River Rodeo in Wichita Falls.

Returning to Vegas will be Haltom City's Paulo Crimber, who was recently there for the Pro Bull Riders finals. This will be the bullrider's first NFR.