Fall has arrived in most states and as I write this, Finals are happening everywhere across the country. Some snowbirds have already moved camp to Arizona to partake in all of the roping opportunities available during the winter months. Yost Productions as well as Dynamite Productions are in full swing with their winter schedules offering ropings for a wide variety of ropers.
I was in Reno recently for part of the ACTRA Finals. I announced some of their short-round activities. I am always impressed with this association, as they cater to the family roper at an affordable price. They were plagued with some issues this year. Mainly a bad storm hit the area with wind, rain, and snow at the beginning of their competition week. The Reno Sparks Livestock Events Center lost all power and shut down the roping for quite some time until a huge portable generator could be brought in which powered the building for the rest of the week. This caused them delays and some ropings lost teams as competitors had to leave in order to be back to work. After some catch up on Monday morning, things got back into full swing and the ropings in the indoor and outdoor roping went smoothly except for some minor chute problems that was handled by Kovac Ranch Equipment crew who helped get the roping back on track.
It was sure nice to go through the parking lot and see so many families tail-gating and roping their practice devices readying themselves for the big runs in either the indoor arena (home of the BFI) or in the outdoor arena (home of the Reno Rodeo). What a thrill for many of these ropers to compete in this environment that they know have hosted some of the best ropers in the world.
The Reno Rodeo grounds was crowded as always with many big rigs. In talking with George Combs of the Reno Rodeo, it looks like many new ideas are in the works to either expand the existing grounds or maybe even a full relocation of the Reno Rodeo which would lead to a much more user friendly environment for any equestrian event in the future. This will all be decided in the next six months and we will try and keep everyone updated on the new plans. Exciting to say the least.
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It’s not long until we will all be in Vegas at the Wrangler National Finals. Lots of rodeo action plus a ton of ropings with the World Series of Team Roping Finale going on at the famed South Point Equestrian Center. The South Point is a state-of-the-art facility which caters to many different equestrian events during the year. Fine lodging with many fantastic restaurants make it a must when in Vegas. It is also the home of the PRCA convention and hosts the nightly presentation of go-round awards.
One big change during the NFR will be the relocation of the Sands Country Christmas Show which has moved to the downtown area and will be in the Las Vegas Market Center Pavilion. Check out the ads for the many Christmas trade shows that will be going on from the South Point to the Convention Center. Many events will be tied into the trade shows from ropings to talk shows with the likes of Steve Kenyon and Flint Rasmussen.
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Good luck to all of those attending and competiting in Vegas whether in the PRCA Wrangler Finals or all of the related ropings and barrel racing events. Some ropings will also be going on outside of Vegas as part of the annual traditions of this time of year including the famed Lucky 7 Roping. See ad on page 3 of this issue for complete details on this great roping.
It will be fun watching the Finals this year and see the lead in many of the events change nightly with the huge money up for grabs in the go-rounds, plus the average.
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The December issue of Ropers Sports News is a great issue to advertise in as it is one of our biggest distributions of the year. So get your ad copy in early. Happy Thanksgiving to all and travel safe.