Chuckwagon Races Return!
Gary Sandstead of Platteville, Colorado will keep us on the edge of our seats when he fills the arena with dust and excitement as special teams of horses pulling chuckwagons at break-neck speed “fly” around the arena.

Nobody quite knows when these races started. Some say they developed from wagon races cowboys used to hold on the open range. Others say it recalls land rushes, when settlers raced in wagons to stake their claims. Some believe they were inspired by the round up crews who raced to the nearest saloon at the end of the day. Whoever is right, chuckwagon racing is back for an encore performance.

McKee to Announce
Justin McKee from Lenapah, Oklahoma started his rodeo career as a steer and calf roper. His "other occupation" is as a rancher and cattle dealer. As a young announcer, he has applied his talents as Master of Ceremonies for Miss Rodeo America pageants, NFR internet audio broadcasts on Prorodeo.com and has qualified as a finalist for PRCA Announcer of the Year several times. We welcome him back to our team and look forward to his good humored and descriptive commentary.

Also to Announce!
Jody Carper is originally from a small town in West Texas, where he competed in tie down roping, team roping, and steer wrestling.  He became a professional tie down roper in the PRCA in 1998. After working as a part-time rodeo announcer since 1991, in 2005, he decided to focus all of his rodeo efforts toward his announcing career.  He draws on past experiences as a contestant to give fans a unique behind-the-scenes view of our sport. When he’s not announcing rodeos, you can find him running up and down a basketball court as a college basketball official.  He has worked in 11 different conferences and one professional league.  Time spent on the court has led to other opportunities behind the microphone calling both basketball and football games.

Bullfighers & Clowns
We have a team of great clowns to entertain and make us laugh with their antics: These rodeo clowns provide an even greater service by protecting the cowboy (bull rider) in the arena. Joe Baumgartner, Red Bluff, CA, is married and lists rancher as his "other occupation" with special interests in golf and hunting. Cowboys want him on their side when they're in the arena; for the ninth straight year, the PRCA's top bull riders chose him to work the NFR.

Our barrelman this year is Troy Lerwill. Troy was born and raised in Payson, Utah to a rodeo family. He received his first horse when he was 4 years old. His interests and skills with speed and daring have helped him develop a specialty act for rodeos, and he will be performing that in addition to his barrel work. He began his bullfighting career in 1994 and often found himself "the man in the can" making people laugh as the barrelman. Troy joined the PRCA in 1997. In spare time, Troy enjoys motorcross, golf, and encouraging his wife, Rebecca, with her dressage competitions.

Stock Contractors
Top cowboys require exceptional rodeo stock. Cowboys compete for money and standings, and to get the high scores needed to win, stock must perform as well or even better than the cowboy. We have put together three professional stock contractors who provide this caliber of performing stock. Western Rodeos, Inc. from Folsom, CA secures some of the best stock on the West Coast and supplements with a successful breeding program. Western Rodeos' bulls have won stock of the year honors five times. Growney Brothers Rodeo Company from Red Bluff, CA was started by John Growney, a PRCA roughstock competitor, with the stock he used for practice. The company's great bull, Wolfman, teamed with Wade Leslie for the only 100-point ride in rodeo history. The Corey & Horst Rodeo Company from Moses Lake, WA will round out our team of contractors. With our corrals filled with all this fine stock, cowboys come from the entire continent to compete for the biggest pieces of the pie!