 Bob Feist |
BFI Memories,
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It is almost time for the 35th annual Bob Feist Invitational to be held in Reno on June 18th in conjunction with the Reno Rodeo. This is the first year the roping will be produced under the new ownership of Ullman and Peterson Events. So far, everything is looking great for a good time and some awesome roping to be displayed the top ropers in the business.
If you haven’t made your plans yet to attend, then you should be thinking about it. Call the Silver Legacy today and make your reservations at 800-687-8733 (see their ad on page 4 of this issue). The Legacy is where all the action takes place for Reno Rodeo week. Sunday night is the BFI Reception at the Legacy and the roping starts at 8 a.m. the next morning at the Reno Livestock and Events Center. There will be free shuttle service provided by the Silver Legacy all day long from the hotel to the arena so make it easy on yourself and come spend some time in Reno, Nev. There are plenty of things to see in the Reno area from Lake Tahoe to Virginia City to the Reno Rodeo.
I have been asked many times in the past six months if I will have much to do with this year’s roping. All I can say is, yes, my staff and I have been somewhat involved and we here at Ropers Sports News sort of miss all of the chaos that goes along with putting on this event. This year will be sad as we watch our baby (the BFI) leave our control and move on. It is like your child going on with their life and leaving home.
I will miss all the worrying about the many things that it takes to put on an event like this and will miss the interviews with my good friend Kendra Santos, who for 32 years has been a part of the BFI and has written some awesome stories about the many happenings of the event. I will miss Scott Kesl and the Felker boys from Idaho who would come down every year to help us out. Taryn Krantz and Rayanne Currin will not miss me having them run all of my silly errands. They both will be back working the event along with Erica Krantz and Mallory Brown. All of the Reno Rodeo volunteers will also be missed for all their years of loyalty.
The new owners are doing a great job to make sure that things run smoothly and plan on things running well as always. Many of the same staff will be returning to do their normal great job. My staff, along with the fans and sponsors, are what made this event what it is. Thanks to all involved.
I want to personally thank all of you fans who have sent in comments to the Ropers Sports News Facebook page regarding the BFI and what you remember most about it over the years. RSN has been running a trivia contest under the direction of Stephanie Anderson about the BFI. It has been fun and rewarding to read all of your comments. Steph came up with the idea to have a contest with tickets to this year’s BFI to be awarded to the winners in each phase of the contest. See the article in this issue on page 24 that tells about the next BFI ticket give-away.
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Julie Sell, a 20-year employee, has been out of the office for the past two months due to illness, but we are glad to report that she is progressing and hopefully will be back with us someday. This has put a heavy load on Jenny Vasquez and Steph, and the two of them have come through like champs, making sure everything gets done in the same fashion as in years past.
Erica Krantz will be joining our staff in May to help out, so we are all looking forward to having her on board.
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My thanks also go out to Billy Pipes and his Wildfire Roping for carrying out a great roping for the open ropers. Billy patterned his roping after the BFI and has done a great job over the years. George Strait is another I would like to thank for following suit in promoting one of the best open ropings in the field today. George’s love for the sport of team roping has helped him put together an open roping with one of the biggest payoffs in the history of the sport. The very lucrative payoff not only includes a whole lot of hard cash but also pickup trucks and trailers to the winners. It’s a life-changing win for any roper.
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Many of the roping associations have also put together some great open divisions to reward the open ropers in the sport and to give their members the incentive to become better. There are many handicapped associations today that have an open division along with their classification ropings. Some also have some pro-am ropings giving the lowered classified ropers a chance to rope with some of the top names in the industry.
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Looking at the rodeo trail standings in the PRCA, I see that Keven Daniel, Franklin, TN is leading the heading as of this writing followed by Clay Tryan, Helena, MT. Kaleb Driggers, Albany, GA is in third with Trevor Brazile, Decatur, TX in fourth. What I find interesting in this set of standings (April 23) is the states represented. Tennessee, Montana, Georgia and Texas. Years ago in the team roping, it seemed the leaders always came from California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma, to name a few, not Georgia and Tennessee. This just shows how team roping has changed over the years.
In the heeling we find Chase Tryan, Helena, MT, the leader with Travis Graves, OK, second; Patrick Smith, TX, third; and Kinney Harrell, TX, in the fourth place position. Dugan Kelly of Paso Robles, CA has jumped back in the top 15 after staying off the road for quite a few years. Over the years Dugan has roped with many of the top headers in the business.
Ryan Motes is another name back in the heeler line up of the top 15 and has recently gained fame by roping a steer with partner Brock Hanson in 3.3 at the Nacogdoches, TX rodeo. This tied the PRCA record book in the team roping. They share the record with Chad Masters and Jade Corkill.
In addition to Hanson and Motes there were four other teams with times of 3.8 seconds or faster, including a 3.6 by Clayton Hass and Boogie Ray. The cutoff time for an 8th place check was a time of 4.5. That was a tough rodeo.
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More to come next month on what I will miss and what I remember most about the BFI the past 35 years.
Have a good month of May and we’ll see you all in June at the BFI!!!
