Book chronicles Cowboy Symposium history

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September 8, 2010

By Brett Hoffman Rodeo Insider The Huntsville Item Wed Sep 08, 2010, 10:30 PM CDT

LUBBOCK — As the 22nd National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration runs this weekend at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center, organizers will market a new book that chronicles the success of the western festival.

The historical account, which bears the festival’s namesake, covers the National Cowboy Symposium’s first 21 editions and features interesting biographical information and quotes from a numerous rodeo stars who have been honored.

Author Richard W. Slatta provides an account of the inaugural Cowboy Symposium in 1989 that featured legends Larry Mahan, Jim Shoulders, Toots Mansfield and Harry Tompkins who were featured on a panel discussion.

Shoulders, a 1950s bull and bronc riding star, recalled his amazement at the amount of money he received for success at his first rodeo at age 14.

“It was the Fourth of July and I had been working on a wheat harvest of 25 cents an hour,” Shoulders said. “I thought $18 for one day’s work was pretty good. I knew I was rich and would never see another poor day.”

Shoulders went on to win 16 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world titles and lived well.

Though Mahan made more than 1,200 rodeo appearances and never suffered an overly serious injury, the roughstock riding legend said a cowboy must factor in being sidelined.

“Be prepared to spend several months of your life in plaster of paris,” he said.

Mahan, who successfully caught the attention from the mainstream media, thrived in bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding in the late 1960s and 1970s. He said bull riding was the most challenging event.

“On a horse, you can sometimes make a mistake and pick up in time to save yourself,” Mahan said. “But a bull usually won’t give you a second chance.”

For more information this weekend’s Cowboy Symposium, visit cowboy.org.

A helping hand — The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo continued its commitment to education as a sponsor of Texas A&M University’s Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans With Disabilities. The program, which ran Aug. 14-21, provided training and education in entrepreneurship and small business management to men and women injured as a result of military service in Iraq and Afghanistan since Sept. 11, 2001.

“It is an honor to talk with these men and women about their future business endeavors,” said Skip Wagner, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo president. “Giving back to these veterans by providing educational opportunities is a small thing we can do for a group of individuals who have given more than we can imagine.”

In 2008, the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University joined a consortium, led by Syracuse University, to bring world-class faculty, entrepreneurs, disability experts and business professionals together in a program focused on training veterans in small business ownership. The program is completely free for the veterans, including travel and accommodations. The Houston Rodeo has been a sponsor since the program began at the Mays Business School.

PRCA circuit update — Throughout August and September, stars of the PRCA saddle up for traditional rodeos in the Northwest, in communities such as Pendleton, Ore., Caldwell, Idaho, Puyallup, Wash., and Ellensburg, Wash.

During the past weekend, the PRCA’s marquee Labor Day Weekend show was the Ellensburg Rodeo, which provided fans two arena records on Monday.

Competing at a morning preliminary performance, North Texas team ropers Joel Bach and Paul Eaves set an Ellensburg team roping record, turning in a second-round winning time of 4.2-seconds. During the Monday afternoon final round, 2009 National Finals Rodeo qualifier Steven Peebles clinched the bareback riding title after turning in an Ellensburg record score of 90 aboard the Calgary Stampede bronc Mad Money.

PBR update — As the Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series heads into the final stretch, Brazilian Renato Nunes leads the world title race with 9222.25 points, 218 ahead of second-place Austin Meier. This weekend, the tour stops in Greenville, S.C. It’s the first of five remaining regular season shows that are scheduled to help determine the qualifiers for the Oct. 20-24 World Finals in Las Vegas.

Trevor Brazile watch — As he attempts to win a record-breaking eighth PRCA world all-around title, Trevor Brazile, an Amarillo native who lives in Decatur finished as the all-around champion at two smaller Northwestern rodeos. The roping superstar earned $2,403 in Walla Walla, Wash., and $1,330 at Filer, Idaho. Brazile leads the 2010 world all-around title race with total earnings climbed to $220,885 and he’s more than $110,000 ahead of No. 2 ranked Curtis Cassidy.

Oklahoma bound — PRCA officials announced that the Dodge National Circuit Finals, the sport’s championships for weekend competitors who thrive on a regional level, will move to Oklahoma City in 2011 (March 31 through April 3). The event, which also features world class competitors who qualify after winning consistently at PRCA shows near their homes, will offer an impressive purse of more than $525,000. The DNCFR was in Pocatello, Idaho, from 1987 through 2010.

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