Feburary 2003 - Vol. XI, No. 1 You’veYou’ve NeverNever SeenSeen ItIt LikeLike This!This! MAGAZINE COMMITTEE OFFICER IN CHARGE CONTENTS William A. “Bill” Yates CHAIRMAN Bill Bludworth 1 VICE CHAIRMEN A Message From the President Lawrence S Levy Todd Zucker Features EDITORIAL BOARD Cowboy Up .......................................................... 2 Bill Booher Sue Cruver The Devil’s Rope .................................................. 4 Kenneth C. Moursund Jr. Cowboys of Color ................................................ 6 Tracy L. Ruffeno Marshall R. Smith III Grub Lite ............................................................. 8 Constance White page 2 2 RODEOHOUSTON™ Entertainers .......................... 9 PHOTOGRAPHERS 10 Sam Pierson 0 Show Schedule .................................................... Debbie Porter Grounds Map ...................................................... 12 0 REPORTERS 3 Rodeo METRO Express ...................................... 13 Beverly Acock Sonya Aston Q&A With Show Leaders ................................... 14 Gina Covell A Badge of Honor ................................................ 16 Brandy Divin Stephanie Earthman Thanks Sam! ....................................................... 16 Teresa Ehrman Horses on Draft ................................................... 17 Susan Emfinger Freeman Gregory Committee Spotlight Whitney Horton Melissa Kaplan Horse Show ......................................................... 18 page 7 Amy Mackay Melissa Manning Show News and Updates Nan McCreary Andy Ramzel Third-Year Committee Chairmen Profiles .......... 20 Gordon Richardson II Rodeo Round-Up ................................................. 21 Beverly Rosenbaum Ken Scott Calendar of Events ................................. Back Cover Gina Steere Susan Williams May 2002 - Vol. X, No. 2 Tara Telage Wilson The Cover Leslie Worsham With superstar concerts, action-packed rodeo events, livestock and horse shows, educational DESIGN/LAYOUT Clarke & McClure exhibits, and more, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo offers fun and excitement for page 17 visitors of all ages. HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO MAGAZINE COORDINATION Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ MARKETING & PRESENTATIONS DEPARTMENT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: LIFETIME MEMBERS - OFFICERS: SENIOR DIVISION MANAGER, Joseph T. Ainsworth M.D. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: J.L. “Bubba” Butera ADVERTISING, PRODUCTION & Jim Bloodworth Douglas B. Marshall Tom Dompier CREATIVE DESIGN Don A. Buckalew Clayton Underwood Douglas L. Doyle Johnnie Westerhaus John H. Causey James M. Windham Jr. Jamie Ehrman SENIOR DIRECTOR - J.M. Clepper John D. Ellis Jr. INFORMATION/PUBLICATIONS John T. Cook CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD: Jack A. Lyons Doyce Elliott Dick Graves John O. Smith James Mushinski Hal Hillman W. Allen Owen MAGAZINE PRESIDENT AND Don D. Jordan Chris Richardson Volume XI, No. 1, is published by the CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER: H. Stuart Lang Jr. Charles R. “Butch” Robinson Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. P. Michael Wells Copyright 2003 Louis M. Pearce Jr. Gregory A. Schroder Letters and comments should be sent to: Paul Somerville Keith A. Steffek Marketing Department VICE PRESIDENT AND Tommie Vaughn William A. “Bill” Yates Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: P. O. Box 20070, P. Michael Wells Dan A. Gattis Houston, Texas 77225-0070 www.rodeohouston.com Benefiting Youth - Supporting Education www.hlsr.com A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT It is finally here — our first Show in our new facilities. The Our star lineup is spectacular, and the new four-day Draft excitement in the offices and in the committee meetings has Horse Event, I believe, will attract a huge amount of attention. been building over the last several months and is now at a We’ve got a great Show lined up, so — Let’s Rodeo! fevered pitch. When we began these building projects several years ago, we knew it would take a lot of effort and a lot of adjusting — giving and taking — to find a spot for all the old places, events and memories to fit into the new venues. We have finally done P. Michael Wells it and believe that we have not forgotten anything. President and Chief Executive Officer We did have some “square pegs” that we were trying to fit into “round holes,” and that gave us some difficulty. While we have more parking spaces than we did during construction, we also have new facilities that have a higher capacity, includ- ing Reliant Stadium, which has 12,000 additional seats. The increased seating has allowed us to sell more season tickets, and season parking passes were offered to season ticket pur- chasers. The response was tremendous and utilized a large portion of the available parking across Kirby. We only had enough remaining parking to accommodate the committee volunteers who actually are working each day. While it is dis- appointing that we are unable to provide parking for all com- mittee volunteers at this location, the revenue generated from new season ticket sales will help us in our support of educa- tional endeavors. We realize that the committee volunteers are the lifeblood of this organization, and finding parking spaces for them is a priority of the officers and staff. We hope that we have fine- tuned the Rodeo METRO Express from the Reed Road park- ing area so that it is just as fast and convenient — if not more convenient — than fighting the traffic to get into Reliant Park. We all have had to make sacrifices and endure changes in order to fit our old way of Show life into our new Show homes. As in the past, working together, we can make the 2003 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ the best ever. With the tools we have in place, there is no limit as to what we can accomplish in increasing our commitment to benefiting youth and supporting education. Marilyn and P. Michael Wells congratulate William Frank Edmiston of Eldorado, Texas, on exhibiting the 2002 Grand Champion Junior Market Goat. 1 By Ken Scott Positioning himself to try to create just the right feel, the competitor senses the heat and aggression rising in his restless co-participant below. Repeatedly opening and closing his snugly gloved hand, testing its grip and the tautness of the flat, woven rope, the rider prays that it will remain secure just long enough to let him finish the ride. He knows that the rope, like every other detail of the ride, requires a delicate balance. It must be tight enough to secure him but not so tight as to trap his hand when he releases his grasp. The competitor’s heart pounds as he attempts to pace his breathing, hoping to control his adrenaline level. He brushes a drop of perspiration from his brow with his free hand before deliberately placing it as far away as possible from everything else. A thousand ideas race through his mind as he tries to think about nothing — nothing except reacting in milliseconds to anything that might happen during the next eight sec- onds. With his focus so tightly wrapped around the photo by Frank Martin immediate moment, his awareness of anything Staying on the bull for eight seconds is the ultimate goal, but a sudden leap, jump, twist or turn of the bull can result in an early dismount and no score. beyond a three-foot radius becomes nonexistent. After a brief, final check of his posture, and with a determined nod of said 2000 World Champion Bull Rider Cody Hancock, from his head, the competitor invites the release of 2,000 pounds of Taylor, Ariz. Although he started out riding calves and steers as bone-jarring, mind-muddling, pinwheeling, ground-shaking a youngster, he rode his first bull at age 13. Today, 27-year-old terror. Hancock participates in approximately 100 rodeos per year. “I Someone possessing the desire and fortitude to undergo am living my dream. I love to ride bulls,” he added. this experience several times a week might just have what it At a minimum, cowboys must remain on their bulls for a takes to become a professional bull rider. This is the job title of total of eight seconds in order to have a qualifying ride, but the more than 700 cowboys in the United States, Canada, Mexico, judges look at a host of other factors when scoring a ride, some Brazil and Australia. The basics seem simple enough: stay on of which are outside the cowboy’s control. For example, the the bull for eight seconds and don’t touch anything with the judges evaluate the performance of the bulls, which often are free hand. However, there is a lot more than that to riding bulls referred to as co-participants, and half of a contestant’s score is for a living. based on the animal’s efforts. Hancock said, “The only real bad Riding bulls with names like Sugar Bear, Blueberry Wine bull to ride is one that won’t buck.” and Jelly Roll might seem fun and exciting. Some professional Tommy Keith, assistant supervisor of Pro Officials of the cowboys even make it look easy, but the sight of a cowboy’s Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association/ProRodeo, said, hand hung up in his rope while the still-angry bull viciously “While the crowd is watching the cowboy just hang on to the stomps him, kicks him, hooks him and drags him around the bull, the judges are watching at least 12 separate characteristics arena — commonly known as being “rag dolled” — makes of the bull’s actions.” These include, but are not limited to, bull other ways to earn a living quickly come to mind. spin, rear, kick, fade, lunge, jump/kick with spin, jump/kick in The true desire to become a bull rider often starts early. “I straight line, shoulder roll, speed, rhythm, drop and power. For knew that is what I wanted to do when I was just a little kid,” the cowboy, judges base scores on control, aggressiveness, 2 exposure, spurring and timing. “It all comes down to who is raised,” bull riding is in his blood. “The sport of bull riding has controlling whom,” Keith said. come a long way but still has a way to go. Continuing to have Bull riding might not sound like a sport that requires much big sponsors and the best stock is always important, but hope- more than a bull and a willing passenger, but it does.