This is the time of year for finals all over the good ole USA. The week of this writing is the ACTRA Finals in Reno, Nev., and I will be going up there to see many of the ropers plus many of our advertisers as they gather in the fall weather of Nevada. As many of the ropers head for Reno, they will be getting into some bad weather as the first major storms of winter hit the Sierras. Once in Reno they will be protected by the Reno Livestock Events Center which is also the home of the BFI. A nice indoor pen with an attached warm up arena.
Also as of this writing, the USTRC Finals in Oklahoma City are in full swing and as all of you know it can be an Indian summer back there or it can be nasty. Once again the event is held in a nice facility where the weather doesn’t play in as a factor. Additional ropings will be held at the Lazy E Arena just north of OKC and they will also be hosting the PRCA Steer Roping Finals in November.
Then we will get into December and all ropers will either be in Las Vegas, Nev., or will be following their favorite roper as they compete for more money than ever in the history of team roping. Between the WNFR team roping going on at the Thomas and Mack Arena and the World Series of Team Roping going on at the famed South Point Arena, there will be over $7 million up for grabs. The PRCA ropers will be made up of the top 15 in the world who have rodeoed all year to secure a spot in this year’s Wrangler National Finals. No entry fee and a chance to rope one steer a day for a whole lot of money.
At the south end of Las Vegas, hundreds of ropers will be converging at the South Point Arena for a week of roping where the winners will be taking home part of a $6 million purse. These dollar amounts blow me away and I am so happy to see a dream of mine come true that team ropers are finally able to compete for large purses. When I first started roping and a few years later started Ropers Sports News in 1968, I had visions of team roping being much bigger someday. This is way, way bigger than my initial vision and it could have only happened with the efforts of the many promoters and sponsors along with the ropers. My hat’s off to all who have had a part in making this sport what it is today. A special tip of the Resistol to Denny and Connie Gentry for promoting team roping through the different organizations they have been involved with over the years and the success they have achieved.
There have been many pioneers of team roping who have all contributed to this great sport and each in their own way. There have been systems that have worked and there have been many that have failed, but with their failure someone else learned what the ropers wanted and needed. Many ropers helped carve the roping world to what it is today in roping talent and working with promoters to better understand the ropers’ needs. There were also many ropers who did nothing but enter up and complain about what could be better and even from them we all learned.
Roping has come a long way and I want to wish all of you entered up the next couple of months the best of luck and I will see many of you at your Finals. I, of course, will be on hand to complain about the smallness of the Thomas and Mack Arena and how bad it showcases our event. It is what it is and I have learned to live with it but will still cry about it.
The South Point Hotel and Casino will be the place to be during the WNFR in Vegas from tradeshows, bull sales, horse sales, and a whole lot of team roping. Word has it that the South Point will be expanding in the near future to have even more team roping for a whole lot more money during the month of December.
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Happy Turkey Day to everyone and hope to see you down the road this next couple of months. If you’re thinking of a good Christmas gift for someone, keep a subscription to Ropers Sports News in mind for what’s going on in the team roping world. We have a special going on now (see ad this page).
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The Ropers Sports News staff is grieving the loss of our beloved office dog, border collie Kylee Rae. Kylee, owned by RSN General Manager Steph Anderson, has been coming to work every day since she was eight weeks old and lived a good, long life as she was over 15 years old at her passing. Kylee did not have a mean bone in her body, and greeted everyone with a wag of the tail while begging for a dog cookie. RIP, our sweet little girl.
