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Weekly Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Tuesday, July 6, 2004
Float winners named for rodeo parade
Almost 100 entries participated in this year’s West of the Pecos Rodeo Parade, which organizers said was huge success.
“We had about that many entries, but not all asked to be judged,” said parade chairman Kathy Hurley of the event, which was held on June 30, the official opening day of the 2004 rodeo.
The winners were announced at the end of the parade at the Reeves County Sheriff’s Posse Arena, during the annual barbecue luncheon.
“We had a great turnout and everything went really well,” said Hurley.
She added that even though this was one of their better years, she and the other organizers of the event are looking forward to a bigger and better one next year.
“We’re always wanting to improve and make it bigger and better for everyone in the community,” said, who co-chaired the event with Elsa Palomino.
“We worked really hard and it’s thanks to the many volunteers that we can put these events together,” said Hurley.
There were winners announced in several different divisions They included the Golden Girl float division, where Liza Vejil’s float won first place, with Susan Moore taking second.
In the Animal Drawn division: Max Magness and his grandchildren placed first and the horse riding group winners consisted of first place, Mader Valley Riding Club (Pecos Cook) and the West of the Pecos Rodeo (Lisa Fernandes).
Jack Brookshire placed first in the Antique Vehicles Division and B&B took second place.
In the bicycles/three wheelers division: first place was Dewayne Belaire and second place, Louis Miguel Rodriguez.
Dr. Dele’s float, a saloon motif, complete with saloon girls, placed first in the Commercial/Business Division and the Little Miss Cantaloupe float took second place.
Civic Club Division winners included first, CPAA and second place, the Reeves County Detention Center Employee’s Club.
Two events get winners on rodeo’s final night
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
Saddle bronc rider Cliff Norris started off his event Saturday night by coming up with the winning performance of the West of the Pecos Rodeo, while team ropers Tyler Magnus and Mickey Gomez made that event’s last ride of the 2004 rodeo into the winning one, as the four-night show closed out before a near-capacity crowd at the Buck Jackson Rodeo Arena.
Norris was the first rider in the final section of saddle bronc riding, and scored 87 points on “Lonestar Smokeless” to take home the $4,144 first prize. That was two points better than Jeremiah Diffee’s 85-point score on “Coffee Bean” on Wednesday night. Diffee collected $3,177 for his efforts, while third place was shared by two cowboys riding the same horse -- Cody Demoss, who scored 84 points on Wednesday riding “Nadine” and Mike Outhier, who had the same score on the same horse two nights later. Both earned $1,994 for their efforts.
Magnus and Gomez didn’t have the best time of the second go-round in team roping, but their 7.3 second effort to wrap up Saturday’s competition was good enough for seventh place there, and gave them a 14.4 time on two rides, the best of this year’s rodeo and worth $1,951 apiece.
Joe Beaver and his partner Mike Bacon ended up winning the second-go round in team roping with a 6.1 second time, the best overall this year. They ended up in fifth place for the average, and combined with a sixth place finish for Beaver in the first go-round of calf roping, allowed him to claim the 2004 All-Around Cowboy title.
The award is based on the most money won in more than one event, and while Beaver didn’t claim as much money as the winners in the roughstock competition, his $3,252 was tops among cowboys to place in the Top 8 in multiple events.
Eight-time world champion Jake Barnes and his partner Allen Bach tied for second in the average in team roping with Matt Tyler and Kory Koontz, both teams with 14.7 times for their two attempts. Both teams won $1,571. Seven time defending world champs Speed Williams and Rich Skelton bounced back from first go-round problems to take second place in the second go-round, with a 6.9 time, good for $1,597, while Steve Purcella and Britt Bockus beat out Magnus and Gomez for top honors in the first ground, held on June 28-29, prior to the start of night performances.
Cory McFadden earned money in the same event twice, something possible for the first time this year. McFadden placed seventh in the inaugural Profession Bull Riders’ competition on June 29 at the Buck Jackson Rodeo Arena, then ended up winning the PRCA bull riding event with an 89-point ride on board “Devil Dan” during the July 1 show last Thursday. It was of six rides of 80 points or higher on the night, and one of 10 cowboys that night to last the full eight seconds, while only one bull rider managed to stay on to earn a score on the final two nights of the rodeo.
McFadden added $4,666 to his earnings on Thursday after collecting $357 on Tuesday night. Cord McCoy, who was given a re-ride on Thursday after scoring just 50 points on his first attempt, won second place in the standings with an 86-point effort, good for $3,577. Another Thursday rider, Jarrod Ford, took third with an 85-point ride and earned $2,644.
Another winner who wrapped up his competition on Thursday was Bray Armes. His 4.9 second time in the second go-round of steer wrestling gave the Stephenville cowboy second place there and the victory overall, with a 10.6 time. Armes was also fourth in the first go-round and went home with a combined $3,952 in prize money.
Fans at Saturday’s final show did get to see E.P. Luchsinger win the second go-round, dropping his steer in 4.8 seconds. That earned him $1,667, and gave him second place overall in the average, with a combined 11.4 time that was worth another $1,467.
Thursday also produced the winning ride in bareback competition. Scotty Rodgers scored 86 points on “Little Richard” to take top honors over another Thursday night entry, Ron Leger, who had an 81-point ride on “Sierra Madre,” and Larry Sandovick, who scored 81 the following night riding “Yo Yo.”
Jade Conner won the tie-down (calf) roping with a combined time of 18.9 seconds. That was seven-tenths of a second better than Kyle Hughes, who won the first go round. Conner, who tied for second place in the first go and placed fifth in the second go, won $2,617 for the average and pocked $6,028 overall, while Hughes went home with $4,910 in winnings.
John Driskill won the second go with a 9 flat time, followed by Carter Edmonson at 9.1 seconds. Driskill won $2,617, while Edmonson, who tied for fifth overall, won $3,965.
Winning the steer roping competition was Rod Hartness, who tied for first in the third go-round of steer roping was 17 time world’s champion Guy Allen. Both had12.8 times on their third attempt and Hartness won the average with a 43.5 time on his three efforts. Hartness and Allen both won $1,742 for the third go-round, and Hartness pocketed another $2,795 for his win in the average.
Finishing in second place was J.P. Wickett with a 44.8 second combined time. Wickett and Chad Davis tied for third in the third go-round, with 12.9 second times. They earned $1,256 in the third go-round, and Wickett won another $2,431 for the average. Steer roping is the only event with three go-rounds this year at the West of the Pecos Rodeo.
In the barrel race, opening night leader Amy Still saw her lead hold up through the final three nights of riding. Still won with a 17.65 time and earned $2,378.
Second place went to another June 30 rider, J.J. Thompson, with a 17.90 time, while Jody Masters Dodson, who had Thursday’s best time with a 17.94 effort, wound up in third. They earned $2021 and $1,664 respectively for their efforts.
In the local events, Clay Taylor and Kyle Taylor took first place on Saturday night, in the finals of the wild cow milking competition, while Chase Laurence, Chris Armstrong and Freddie Caballero were the winners of the wild horse race and Herve Hernadez and Jimmy Barrigan won the wild hide ride.
This year’s rodeo had good weather for all five nights of performances, though thunderstorms did threaten prior to both the June 29 and 30 shows.
“I talked to some people tonight, and they said they thought it was the best attendance we’ve had in a long time,” said Rodeo Committee President Clay McKinney following the final show on Saturday. However, he said it would be a few more days before the committee had the exact count on this year’s prize money.
More rodeo results
Rodeo loses over $10,000 in Friday theft
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
A box containing between $10,000 and $12,000 in cash and checks was stolen from the press box at the Buck Jackson Rodeo Arena late Friday night, following the third performance of this year’s West of the Pecos Rodeo.
Rodeo officials announced the theft during the final night of the rodeo on Saturday, and said they would offer a reward for information leading to the recovery of the box, which was taken from a normally restricted area on the second floor of the press box.
West of the Pecos Rodeo Committee President and Pecos Police Chief Clay McKinney said the Reeves County Sheriff’s Department is handling the investigation, because the theft occurred outside the city limits.
Deputy Frank Campos and Sgt. Damon Compton met with rodeo officials and possible eyewitnesses to the incident, including McKinney’s son, both on Friday night and on Saturday.
According to their report, Delia Moore Walls contacted them about 11:20 p.m. on Friday. Walls was the secretary for this year’s rodeo, which was put on by the Terry Walls Rodeo Company. She told deputies that following the completion of bull riding on Friday night, she asked two other people in the announcer’s booth, Kelley West and Shawna Raz, if they could carry a gray plastic money box and a clipboard containing rodeo information from the booth down to the secretary’s trailer, located on the north side of the chutes.
Walls said she left the box on a banister inside the booth. However, West nor Raz told deputies they did not hear her ask for help, and the box ended up being left unattended inside the room. Walls said she came back about 10:50 p.m. to find the box missing.
The box contained between $10,000 and $12,000 in cash and checks. McKinney said he did not know if the money came from several days of the rodeo, or if it was cash only from Friday night’s performance. “I’m assuming it was contestant money, but I don’t know that for a fact,” he added.
Campos and Compton then talked with scoreboard keeper Clark Holmes and soundman Ben Benavides, who were also upstairs at the time the box was left on the banister. Clark said he saw the box and saw two people standing in the hallway waiting to use the restroom before he left the upstairs area to go to the adjacent VIP box, and then to the backstage area.
Deputies also received permission from Holmes to search his pick-up, but nothing was found.
Benavides was interviewed early Sunday morning at the Quality Inn. He said he was putting equipment away and saw a man and woman in the hallway, while others were moving beer chillers out of the VIP area. But he added he did not see the clipboard or the money box in the booth.
McKinney’s son, Clay Ryon McKinney, 22, told deputies on Friday he had been in the restroom following the bull riding, and saw a man inside the announcer’s booth, but could not describe him. Vanessa Trevino, 21, and Marc Anthony Trevino, 16, said they were waiting outside the restroom in the hallway and saw a man enter and leave the room. Marc Trevino added he also saw two girls playing inside the room while he was waiting to use the restroom.
The money in the box is only part of the amount handled by the rodeo each year. The most recent rodeos have paid out between $175,000 and $210,000 to contestants over the course of the four night show. The restroom adjacent to the announcer’s booth in the past had been used only by officials in the booth and cowboys participating in the events, but has also been used for the past several years by fans in the VIP booth, just to the north of the main press box.
McKinney said for the 2005 show, “We’ll probably monitor who goes up there a little more closely.”
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 432-445-5475, FAX 432-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net
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Copyright 2003-04 by Pecos Enterprise
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