2006


Sept 23/24. Another weekend in Chilliwack(My home away from home this year) BCHSR had another weekend of fun and
excitment. One of the final shows of the year. (Only two weekends left)
I mentioned about a bunch of new faces(rookies) this year, but I forgot to mention that there are at least 14 bull riders signed
up this year! The most the BCHSRA has ever had!



Sept 9/10. Another great weekend! The kids are back in school and in the rodeo arena. The BCHRA show was at the Raymond
Kerr Memorial Arena in Kamloops for the 2006-2007 season opener. We saw a bunch of new faces join the "veterans".

We've been spoiled with great rodeo weather all summer so it was kinda disappointing when the rain started falling on
Saturday. I thought "That's okay....the booth is covered" Welllllll.....mother nature must've thought we were too dry in there, the
wind started blowing directly at us and the rain came straight at us. Everyone and all the equipment in the booth was soaked.
A couple of strategically placed patio umbrellas kept us from getting any more water in there.

Before the show I had a chance to help one of our judges, Joe Blile, put together the barrier rope in the timed event box. I
figure if I am a rodeo announcer I should know how everything works in and around the arena . So I learned how to and where
to the pulleys, rope, pins etc. Also learned that most judges have their own barrier kit and bring it with them to the shows they
are working that way they know that everything is working and that everything is there.

After the rodeo on Saturday, I headed out to Whispering Pines for a World Professional Bull Riding show. The weather was still
miserable but, hey, it's bull riding! I like going to the shows and if there's a chance to help  somewhere I will. Shawn Perry, from
S&E Bucking Bulls, was one of the contractors and I asked him if he needed a hand. The Catch Pen or "Suicide Gate" needed
someone so I took it. Now...I've worked around and moved bulls before and I've seen a good friend, Danny Cutler, works the
"Suicide Gate" at Cloverdale so I thought I had it covered....after all I have watched Danny for about 5 years. The fourth bull,
Sawing Logs, bucked off Ian Pare. I opened the gate and let the bull through and then slammed it shut. It didn't latch!!!! I turned
around and was staring the bull right in the face! Well....he ran straight over me, with a brief stop to mush his head and feet into
me while I was down. The bull fighters, Mike Maup, Matt Darmody and Osias saved my butt. I got up, dazed, picked up my hat,
brushed it off and then I remembered the bull was still in the arena!!!  I was up on and over the fence in...well let's just say I
didn't know I could still move that fast! That's it? Nope! Next bull out  bucked off his rider. I got the gate open and was waiting
for the him. He started over towards the gate and I hopped on the fence to get out of his way. Well....I slipped and went
backwards over the fence into a pen of bulls! No injuries on that one. I thought enough slapstick....they're here to see bull
riding. The rest of the evening went off with out a hitch.

Sunday was a perfect rodeo day.

Thanks to everyone for having me out there! I look forward to Chilliwack on September 23/24


World Professional Bullriding  at the Lillooet Lake Rodeo grounds just east of Mount Currie, BC
Back in the 1980's Mount Currie was a hot bed of bull riders so I was looking forward to heading up there for this event.  The
rodeo grounds are old style, wood chutes, wood everything and it's all in great shape.
It took me back to my childhood, when all arenas were wood. The bucking stock was first class, supplied by S&E Bucking
Bulls, Coyote Creek Rodeo and Renegade Rodeo. The rides? Well...the bulls won this weekend. Some of the hi lites were the
rides by Trevor Cowley, Marlon Williams(nephew of Burt Williams) and Neal Wallator.  Also a ride by Frankie Jim who hasn't
been on a bull for 16 years. Did it for his daughter who'd never seen him ride. There was also some young locals that entered.
No qualifying rides but there is definitely some talent there.  Also met a crazy Australian bullfighter by the name of Matt
"Kamikaze" Darmody
As we all know most Australians are a little wacked and this guy is no exception. Click on his name and check out his site.      
Thanks to the Lil'wat Lions Club and all of their volunteers.



The Chilliwack Rodeo was a blast!! This yearly show is a BCRA sanctioned event with some of the best cowboys and cowgirls
in BC and Washington state riding here. This was the biggest show I've done to date.

I'd like to thank Helen and Ed Larsen for giving me the chance. Also like to thank the volunteers. YOU CAN NOT PUT ON  A
RODEO WITH OUT VOLUNTEERS. Chilliwack has about 30 of them and a couple of them come to mind. Dancin' Merv and
Tommy. Merv, between moving animals and doing gate duties was dancing to the tunes. Tommy is a World War II vet and was
wounded in Europe. It's because of people like him that we have the freedom we enjoy today. Please check out this site.
ANAVETS and please support our armed forces and the duties that they are doing today.

Also got to meet a bunch of new people, competitors and fans. I think the hi-lite of my weekend was watching Andy Copeland
put on a textbook display on how to ride a bucking horse. The score was only a 77, but the ride was nice. Andy is one of the
BCRA's more experienced cowboys. Let's just say he's been riding since the 70's...that's the 1970's. Also ran into an old friend
and a great rodeo photographer, Tommy Engebretson.  

It was kind of a sad moment for some friends and volunteers this past weekend. Jim Tutt, a long time volunteer passed away
just days before the rodeo. The service was on Friday afternoon and when it was over about 30 rigs drove by the fair grounds
with horns blaring. Bought a few smile to some sad
faces.

Also...gotta thank an old friend, Denis Beachesne, for looking after the music and such in the booth. As an announcer it is
great when you can concentrate on the talking and not worry about the music.



Wow! What a busy..and fun weekend! Between running back and forth between Cloverdale and Chilliwack. I felt like I was back
on the competitor side of the rodeo circuit! Had to be in Cloverdale on Friday  and Saturday night for the PBR and in Chilliwack
early...real early...on Saturday and Sunday morning for  Little Britches Rodeo   Alot of miles and a little bit of sleep!  Gotta love
rodeo to do it...Just ask Marnie and Danny, they were on the same schedule!
Click here for slide show of the July 1 Little Britches Rodeo

Let's start with the young cowboys and cowgirls. LBR  had their second to last show of the season at Heritage Park in
Chilliwack. 8 hours of talking each day!!! Never thought I could do it.

It's kinda cool watching the kids compete at this age. Watching them grow and knowing that someday, some of them will be
competing in the big leagues and we can all be proud of them as they win their go-round!

Got to work with some of the same people and got to meet some new ones. Good job to all of the volunteers and to David and
Leslie Wright who lead the way for most of the weekend. Also...gotta thank Darren Tuftin(PBR bullfighter) and some of the PBR
cowboys for stopping by on their way to Calgary. The kids loved it!

Speaking of the PBR! Two nights of bull riding at the Stetson Bowl in Cloverdale! Some of the best in the world were there,
Scott Schiffner, Justin Volz, Jessie Torkelson, Tanner Girletz, Greg Potter and more. On Friday night it was a normal show.  
Some good rides and some good spills.  The bulls won on Friday night. Now...Saturday night. Things started out normal and
got real interesting! We had wrecks and wrecks and more wrecks. An above average number of bruises, broken bones and
cuts. At one point one of the competitors turned to me and said "This is freaky" I had no comment. In all of the years I've been
around rodeo I've never seen a night like that. The announcer, Joe Braniff, also said that in 20 years of announcing rodeos he
had never seen a night like that. I can not give you all of the details so next time we meet ask me about that night. When the
dust settled Greg Potter, the million dollar Australian, ended up the winner



Fraser Valley Little Britches Association put on an excellent one day event, July 1, at Chilliwack's Heritage Park. It sure is neat
watching these young cowboys and cowgirls compete!

A few days ago a friend of mine said that he was glad hockey season was finally over because he could relax on weekends, he
didn't have to take his son to the hockey rink at 5 in the morning. As I was announcing the names, hometowns etc. I got to
thinking about  what my friend said and I thought what a whiner!!! These hockey parents have nothing on rodeo parents!!! The
thousands of miles that rodeo families drive each year, the price of tack, the cost of keeping large animals....Just for a chance
to spend a couple of minutes in the rodeo arena! As an announcer I get to sit up in the booth and watch the competitors and
the proud look on their parents faces.

Thanks to the moms and dads, the aunts and uncles, the brothers, the sisters and the friends that keep bringing the kids to the
rodeos so they can do what they love!

See you all again on July 29 and 30!



The BC High School Rodeo Association Finals, Happened June 9, 10, 11, 2006 in Kamloops at the Mt. Paul Centre (formally
KXA) in the Raymond Kerr Memorial Arena

Another great show with lots of excitement. We had the top 12 competitors over the three days looking for the best of the best.
These kids were looking for spots in the Canadian Finals and the National Finals. You can bet that you'll see some of these
cowboys and cowgirls in the CFR and the NFR (just give them a few years)

Got to put some faces behind some of the better known BC rodeo names, Derose(DeDe, Denny and David) ,Norm Kerr, Stoney
Waterston.  The guys at Renegade Rodeo(Shawn, Ed and Daryl)

There was one person that I had never heard about until that weekend. That name is Nick Kalyk. In 1970 Nick decided to form
the BC High School Rodeo Association. It's because of him and loads of volunteers that we have the BCHSRA today. Nick
passed away on June 3, six days before this years finals. One of the most touching moments was the tribute that was paid to
Nick Kalyk just before the final performance on Sunday.  While George Strait's "The Cowboy Rides Away" was playing,
BCHSRA directors rode into the arena on horseback. Stoney  Waterson led a riderless horse carrying Nicks old saddle.

Congratulations to the competitors and the winners of this years finals!



Another long weekend and another great Cloverdale Rodeo! Over $200,000.00 in prize money was up for grabs with  a pair of
the coveted  Cloverdale Rodeo Spurs going to the winner of each  main event . Cloverdale is one of the top  rodeos in Canada
and it's in the top 25 in North America, so of course we'll get  the best cowboys and cowgirls making an appearance.

It is the volunteers,the committees, the sponsors and the fans that make any rodeo a success! This was the 60th Anniversary
and  we saw an increase in fan attendance! Friday was "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" night. With money being raised going to
support breast cancer research. I believe almost $4000.00 dollars was raised!


Things will change over the years...but some things stay the same!

Once again Bob Tallman was behind the mic (Boy have  I learned a lot  from this legend over the past number of years), Will
Senger was keeping things running on time and Kessler Rodeo Company supplied some of the best bucking horses and bulls
in the world!

Some of the new things...Ash "Crash" Cooper.  CrAsh  had everyone rolling in the aisles...and the dirt with his version of
Survivor and with his Monday afternoon"Baseball" skit.  Also had the Real West Drill Team opened up each performance. I
have seen too many Grand Entries to mention,   these girls had something!  The choreography and the timing was excellent!  
There was a bit of a scare on Sunday when one of the horses tripped and three riders went down. Good news though
everyone, girls and animals, are okay.

Looking forward to 2007!



BC High School Rodeo  Wow! Had a blast this past weekend (April 7,8,9)! Seeing these future stars compete was a
treat! These cowboys and cowgirls do not know the word quit! You can bet you will see some of them on the pro circuit.
The Chilliwack BCHSRA  folks had everything running smoothly. As an announcer, it was a pleasure to walk into a show
when almost everything is ready to go! People that worked hard to get it there were The Sardis Sr Secondary gang, all
of the volunteers,  Greta & Rick Janzen, Patty & Len Blackstock(Livestock) , Bob "The Goatbreeder/Builder" Esau,     Ed
Larsen, Fritz Maier and Reg the Kabota Boy. Our timers: Marnie Gigliotti (that's Gee-lee-oh-tee) and   Maryann "My
daughter's the fastest" Muskett. Our judges: Keith Rogers and Berni Rivet.    The C Plus Rodeo guys: Roy & Earl Call,
Wade Mcnaulty, Charlie Attrill and Brett Fraser. The medical expert Danny Cutler from Pro Roughstock Trauma
Management. I'm sure I've forgotten a number of people...if your name's not here I do appologize.



Well….we’re back from Houston and what a trip!!! You’ve heard about southern hospitality? Well it’s definitely very
much alive in this big Texas city.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is one of the biggest! Ranked as one of the world's largest with more than 1 million
spectators visiting Reliant Stadium. Don’t let the term indoor fool you…this is one big place! It holds about 69,000 people.
RODEOHOUSTON has been honored as ProRodeo Indoor Rodeo Committee of the Year eight times in the past 12 years. It’s
also one of the richest PRCA shows. At the 2005 RODEOHOUSTON, 480 invited contestants competed for a rodeo purse
totaling $748,000, plus trophy saddles.

Now the rodeo is great, but the driving force behind this show(as many others) are the volunteers(17,000) and the charity it
serves. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is a charity which benefits the youth of Texas. Since 1957, students
throughout Texas have benefited from the show's total educational commitment of more than $100 million.

I’d like to thank a bunch of people and if I forget any names I do apologize…so many people and places! David, Tanya and all
at the “Canadian Daycare” or as it’s really called the International Room  , Carruth, thanks for the chance to ride in the Grand
Entry, The Chute Club, The Hideout (Some Beach Jim!) Buddy and his Gator, James and Jeanette, The Club Level in the
stadium, Pam and Stacy (pour me another tequila) Leon…thanks for a view of the other side of Texas!  Jan and Monica thanks
for the tour and the meal…nice museum! Greg and Kathy. Greg,  thanks for starting that conversation with Guy Anderson that
one day in Calgary. It’s because of that day that we started coming the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

Thanks again to everyone see most of you in Calgary!