What do you want with your Schneeberger?

I can’t rightly lie about this, so I’ll set the record straight.

For the longest time, I was jealous of Jerome Schneeberger. Tall, handsome, excellent athlete. But mostly, it was because I had a crush on his wife, Haley. I wanted a rodeo girl in my life, and Haley was a Kansan raised around rodeo and involved in her family’s rodeo production business, Rumford Rodeo Co.

She’s also a cutey. But, truth be told, Haley’s much more of a cowgirl than I could ever handle, and she and Jerome are a good fit. Besides, I’ve found a rodeo girl that’s a much better fit for me, so I have absolutely no complaints.

But let’s get back to Jerome, easily one of the best calf ropers going and quite possibly the best without a world title. He’s tall and quick and can rope the lights out of a building. He’s also personable and will do about anything for a friend, just as nearly every cowboy on the trail would do.

Jerome Schneeberger is having the best year of his career. Even with that, he’s third in the world standings heading into Friday’s first round of the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. This marks the eighth time the Ponca City, Okla., cowboy has qualified as one of the top 15 calf ropers at the end of the regular season.

In 2001, he had the best 10 rounds of his NFR life and won the aggregate championship, finishing the season No. 2 in the standings. That year, Cody Ohl dominated the calf-roping standings and won the all-around championship even though he suffered a seriously torn knee in the ninth round of the NFR and didn’t compete in the final go-round.

Still, Schneeberger earned more than $169,000 that season. This year, he’s already pocketed $104,556, and he trails standings leader Fred Whitfield by $20,000. Two go-rounds and Schneeberger could make that up.

Jerome’s said numerous times that the arena at the Thomas & Mack just doesn’t fit him. Rodeo arenas all over the country are various sizes. For example, the arena at the Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days is a lot larger than the one in Guymon, Okla., and both are of different dimensions.

At the NFR, it’s basically the size of a basketball court.

But things might be changing for Schneeberger, who won the summer tour finale in Omaha, Neb., that’s a similar-sized pen to the one being used in Vegas.

I can easily see Jerome Schneeberger wearing the coveted gold buckle of a world champion. I can easily see it happening in the next two weeks.

Fields of Glory

Last year at this time, the rodeo world knew very little about Ronnie Fields.

He qualified for his first National Finals Rodeo in 2004, where he promptly won the NFR title by recording a cumulative time of 43.2 seconds – that’s an average of 4.3 seconds during the 10-round ProRodeo championship event. The $73,372 he won last December in Las Vegas propelled him to No. 3 in the world standings in just his second full season in the premier rodeo association.

This wasn’t Fields’ first rodeo by far, but he hasn’t had as long a career as most 31-year-olds. He didn’t run at his first steer until 1997, so this is just his eighth season trying to make a living on the rodeo trail. In fact, he didn’t even contemplate it until prompted as an adult.

It was about a decade ago that Fields was hanging around the practice pen with his brother, Cornell. As he watched, Ronnie Fields spoke up, telling those wrestling steers just what they were doing wrong even though he’d never jumped off a speeding horse onto a running steer to try to grapple the animal to the ground.

Next thing you know, he was bulldogging with the best of ’em. Always one of the smarter guys in the rig, Fields quickly learned who was who in the steer-wrestling world. He knew the Duvalls in Checotah and the … well, those associated with the Duvalls near Checotah. That’s pretty much where you go to bulldog for a living.

But also in the mix was a terrific cowboy, Dale Yerigan, an 11-time International Professional Rodeo Association bulldogging champion from Pryor, Okla. Traveling with Yerigan, who had won nine straight titles to wrap up the 1990s, proved valuable training, and the Okies could stay closer to home while competing for championships.

While Yerigan closed out one century on roll, Fields began the next similarly. He won three straight IPRA titles, 2000-02, and made a big name for himself in the Midwest. He also won the prestigious Roy Duvall Jackpot during that stretch, beating the very best bulldoggers in the game.

As a PRCA rookie in 2003, Fields won the Prairie Circuit year-end title. With that, he qualified for the National Circuit Finals Rodeo in 2004 and parlayed that into a terrific season and his first trip to the bright lights of Las Vegas in December.

This season has been even better. While he finished the ’04 season with nearly $146,000, and half coming from at the NFR, he’s heading to this year’s championship with $90,751. He’s about $32,000 behind standings leader Jason Lahr, but that deficit can be made up rather quickly at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Round winners in each event will earn $15,738. Should he win the aggregate title again, Fields will pocket an additional $40,360 at the end of the 10-day event.

Ronnie Fields is the youngest of 15 children, and their mother died just a few years ago. We share that in common – being the babies of our families and losing our mothers at a relatively young age. I know Ronnie misses his mother every day, but he carries her love, her strength and her faith with him wherever he goes.

And when you tune in to ESPN for its broadcasts of the NFR beginning Friday, be assured that his 14 siblings will be riding with him every step of the way – whether actually at the NFR or paying careful attention to it wherever they are.

That is, I think, what family’s all about.

The real McCoy

This is a story about Cord McCoy I'm submitting to my church's inspirational newsletter that has pieces submitted by members of the congregation.


The life of a rodeo cowboy can change at the drop of a 10-gallon hat.
Cord McCoy knows that better than most anyone, and his faith in Jesus Christ has carried him through the roller coaster that has been his life in the last year.
Just last fall, you see, McCoy wasn’t sure what his future would hold. He had suffered a severe head injury after being kicked above his left ear by a saddle bronc at the Oklahoma State Fair Rodeo. Surgery, intensive care, months of rehabilitation.
“I didn’t know what it was going to be like, even the littlest things like walking,” said McCoy, a 25-year-old cowboy who has spent his professional life on the backs of bareback horses, saddle broncs and bulls. “The more I walked, the better I was at it. I didn’t know how much the improvement was going to be or what it was going to be like, but I know this: Getting up and walking was real weird at first.”
With each step, his faith was tested. With each exercise, he wondered what his future held. Would he ever ride again? Would he be the same ol’ Cord?
“This has made me realize how thankful I am, not only to be riding, but to be alive,” said McCoy, a five-time champion in the Oklahoma City-based International Professional Rodeo Association (two all-around titles, two saddle-bronc titles and a bull-riding championship).
Last December, he was in the stands of the Thomas & Mack Center for the final round of the National Finals Rodeo. He saw one incredible performance after another. He was with a friend, and they were having the times of their lives.
Cord McCoy was also dreaming. What if he could someday compete in that same arena? What if he could be recognized as one of the best hands in rodeo? What if?
He prayed often and held strong faith in his own abilities to heal, his own abilities to ride and in God Almighty.
Fast-forward to December 2005. Cord McCoy is back in Las Vegas for the National Finals Rodeo. This time, though, he’s the 12th best bull rider in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, the top sanctioning body in the sport. The NFR features the top 15 contestants in each event. It is ProRodeo’s grand finale. Ten go-rounds. Round winners earning more than $15,000.
The dream came true. Prayers were answered.
But that transition hasn’t been easy. When you have to re-learn basic cognitive skills, re-learning the skill to ride ferocious bucking animals won’t be simple.
“I’d put that little old helmet on, and I’d start walking horses around,” McCoy said. “About a month before I went to the doctor to see about being released to compete again, I started getting on horses bareback to get my balance ready to ride bulls. I went to ride him across the pasture, and I almost fell off several times.
“Now this is something I’ve done all my life, and I couldn’t do it. You would’ve thought this guy would never be a bull rider. I had to take the horse up and set him in a little bitty pen that we have set up for kids just so I could do it.”
And that was before doctors gave him clearance to compete again. Until he heard the words, though, there was serious doubt about his rodeo career. His injury, after all, wasn’t a simple concussion. He needed months for his injury to heal – the crack in his skull was circular, and the bone indented inward putting pressure on his brain. Surgeons repaired the malady, but at least eight months off would give the bone time to heal. Still, there was an outside chance he would never ride bucking animals again.
He prayed for God’s healing power. He prayed for strength. He prayed for just one more chance.
Time away from the rodeo arena – even his seat at last year’s NFR – not only helped McCoy’s body heal, it also ignited a desire to compete at a high level. He wanted to test his mettle against the big boys in the PRCA and the PBR.
“I think it all fed off my spirituality,” he said. “It was tough starting back, because as far as trusting yourself and your reaction and also trusting in God … that was something I had to just turn over to God.
“This is what I’m going to try to do, and if this is what’s out there for me, it’ll happen. I just leave the reins to Him and let Him guide me.”
Armed with a new lacrosse-style helmet to protect his noggin, McCoy returned to the rodeo arena in April. And while he rode rank bulls, he wasn’t getting to the pay window. Rodeo cowboys not only pay their bills by what they earn in competition, it’s also how points are kept toward a world championship. At season’s end, the top 15 money-winners in each event qualify for the NFR.
Also keep in mind that McCoy had given the rest of the field a four-month head start. By April, several cowboys had earned tens of thousands of dollars and were well on their way to a December trip to Las Vegas.
Through the end of July, McCoy had picked up a few paychecks as he traveled the rodeo circuit, earning $7,000 in three months on the trail. Now focusing on bull riding, he sometimes strapped his hand to as many as seven or eight bulls a week, desperately chasing his dream. At that time, the leader in the standings was nearing the $200,000 mark.
Cord McCoy was being left in the dust.
“I went for a stretch there where I wondered if I was good enough to ride at a top level,” he said. “I just couldn’t stay on. I finally got so frustrated after getting bucked off, I asked the stock contractor if he had another bull he could run in there for me so I could just work off whatever the problem was. He did, and that bull was even ranker than the one I got on for the money.
“But I rode that bull. I did the right things to ride him, and even though it wasn’t for the money, it paid off.”
He returned to his home state for Bullnanza at the Ford Center. It was the first time he’d set foot on Oklahoma soil in weeks, and he needed a gallant homecoming in all sorts of ways.
On the opening night, McCoy scored a whopping 95 to win the first go-round. Cha-ching. $5,259.
The next night was much of the same. McCoy scored a 93 to win the second go-round. Another $5,259. Though he bucked off his final bull, McCoy finished third in the aggregate race with 188 points. All told, he walked out of the Ford Center with $16,479, more than doubling his season’s take in one fell swoop.
That began a roll that saw McCoy win more than $71,000 over the next three and a half months, finishing the regular season with $78,195.
“When I came back, this was something I’d done my whole life for a living,” McCoy said. “I’m not worried about money but just about pure safety and what could happen. That’s when I knew I had to turn it over to God. The whole protection and what I’m going to be able to do … you have to lean on God for that.”
Many prayers were answered the day Cord McCoy left the surgery table alive. Many prayers were answered as his health and cognitive skills progressed. Many prayers were answered the day doctors cleared him to ride again.
And as his family and friends sit in the Thomas & Mack Center watching Cord McCoy compete among the best rodeo cowboys in the world, prayers were answered again.
“I really haven’t thought that much about money or what it pays a round,” he said. “I’m just so thankful to have a year like this. I’m just thankful to be able to go out and do what I enjoy doing and be at the top of the game like that. I went from barely being able to stay on a horse bareback without falling off to eight months later riding in the NFR.
“It’s all pretty awesome.”
Cord McCoy is a cowboy. Thank God for that.

Man, that was close

Texan Scott Snedecor accomplished a remarkable feat over the past weekend at the National Finals Steer Roping in Amarillo, Texas.

Not only did he beat ProRodeo Hall of Famer Guy Allen, considered "The Legend" for his 18 steer roping world titles, Snedecor did so in what's now the closest finish between the top two cowboys in any given event in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

$1.67.

For less than a cost of a Big Mac, Snedecor won his first world title. He did so by being the most consistent cowboy in the 15-man field over 10 rounds. He won $21,850 in Amarillo, which was just enough to sneak past Allen, who carried a $16,148 lead heading into the three-day event.

Steer roping has been part of rodeo for decades. Like calf roping, a steer is roped then tied. Unlike calf roping -- where a calf is lifted off the ground, laid on its side (or thrown) and three of its legs tied-- steers are roped around the horns and the lasso is set up in a manner to trip the animal, therefore knocking the steer to the ground so three of its legs can be tied.

It's a very specialized event, and there aren't that many rodeos across the country that even have it as part of the competition. Because of that, championships are won with less in overall earnings than most other events. Snedecor finished with $69,319 in earnings for 2005.

Compare that to calf roping, where each of the guys in the top 15 has earned more money prior to the championship -- the National Finals Rodeo, which is the championship for the other events (bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, calf roping, barrel racing and bull riding), begins Dec. 2.

Go-round winners at the steer roping finals pocketed $3,800. Not bad. But go-round winners at the NFR will earn more than $15,000. That's a considerable difference from one championship to another.

Either way, it takes tremendous skill to compete in any sport at a high level, and steer roping is a little more specialized than most. Whether it's $70,000 or $170,000, winning the title is still a big deal.

An aside to the finals is that Trevor Brazile, the three-time defending all-around champion, didn't fare nearly as well as he would've liked in Amarillo. The all-around goes to the cowboy with the most money won in multiple events. Brazile might just be the greatest all-around roping hand ever to grace ProRodeo, having qualified for the finals in each roping discipline -- calf roping, steer roping, team roping (heading and heeling).

Brazile added $8,500 to his yearly take and has extended his lead in the all-around standings to almost $27,000. But that's over NFR newcomer Ryan Jarrett, who has qualified in both calf roping and steer wrestling. Brazile would've liked to have been a little more profitable last weekend to help secure his fourth title.

That, folks, is just one of the many intriguing story lines as we close out this ProRodeo season. I'll keep you posted.

Hot, hot, hot

In exactly 12 days, the National Finals Rodeo begins at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The top 15 contestants in each event make their way to Sin City for the biggest and best event in the sport. Ten days, 10 go-rounds, millions of dollars.

Besides the aforementioned Cord McCoy, several other friends and acquaintences will be competing. It's always fun to see buddies and those you've met play their game on the grandest stage available. I've been there two other times while covering the event in a day when Oklahoma's largest newspaper gave a crap about rodeo.

Ah, those were the days. But I digress.

There are several very interesting story lines that are part of this year's NFR, and over the coming days, I plan to report them here.

In the interim, let me tell those of you who don't know about the sport or just focus on the PBR about Matt Austin, the hottest bull rider going.

Austin easily beat the standing season earning's record, this before the high-paying NFR began. When Terry Don West set the standard two years ago, he earned much of his winnings before the NFR. Well, Austin surpassed West's total. And he might just set a mark this year that will be difficult to beat. He won big-time, stand-along, bull-riding events in Birmingham, Ala.; Nashville; Oklahoma City; and Fort Worth, Texas. Then he won the Xtreme Bulls National Finals.

Over the previous two days, Austin proved how hot he really is and how ready he is for the NFR to begin in less than two weeks. He won the Championship Bull Riding finals, adding $65,000 to his CBR earnings. He finished the CBR season with $85,359. In the PRCA, he's won $228,386. That's almost $314,000.

With all due respect to PBR champ Justin McBride, Austin's the hottest bull rider in 2005. Something drastic is going to have to happen for him to lose out on his first gold buckle.

McBride, for the record, earned his first PBR championship just weeks ago and deserved it as much as anyone I know. He's beein at the top of the game for a long time, and this year he broke through. And his final-round ride to secure the title was true grit and effort. I've always known him as a cowboy. That day, he proved it to thousands of others, too.

Cordless

My buddy, bull rider Cord McCoy, is competing tonight at the Championship Bull Riding finals in Jackson, Miss. His story is fascinating, by my standards anyway. I'm in the process of writing a piece on Cord for my church's congregation-driven monthly profile on inspirational messages. Once that's set, I'll add it here.

But a quick bit of background. Cord's a three-event cowboy, competing in all three roughstock events: bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding. He's won five titles in the lesser-known International Professional Rodeo Association: two for the all-around, two for saddle bronc and one for bull riding.

Funny that, looking back, he's probably best known for his bull riding. Even as a high schooler, those who saw him saw something special in his bull riding. The fact that he won just one IPRA bull-riding title ... well, it just seems strange.

Anyway, last year Cord was seriously injured when he was kicked in the side of the head by a horse he'd been bucked off in saddle bronc riding. Surgery, intensive care, rehab. It was severe. Would he live? Would he suffer perminant damage? We really didn't know. But he progressed and healed, and after eight months away from the rodeo trail, he returned in April. Because he must now wear a lacrosse-style helmet, he decided to focus on bull riding, since he'd been wearing a mask of some sort for many years.

Good thing he did. For the first time in his career, Cord has qualified for the National Finals Rodeo, this after giving all the other bull riders a four-month head start and earning most of his money since Aug. 1 -- for those who don't know, points toward the world championship (or NFR qualification) in rodeo are noted by money earned. Cord finished the regular season 12th in the standings with more than $78,000 won, $71,000 of which came after Aug. 1. Contestants in each event must finish the regular season in the top 15 to qualify for the NFR, which takes place in two weeks in Las Vegas.

So my buddy, whom I say has more grit and faith than most on the rodeo trail, is headed to Vegas to compete in the premier event in all of rodeo. He's earned it.

He also qualified for the Championship Bull Riding finals, which is why this post is up tonight. See the deal there is that while Cord was going to 80 PRCA rodeos and dozens of Professional Bull Riders events nationwide, he went to just one CBR event. Still, he earned enough money there to qualify.

Then he tripled his CBR earnings last night by winning the first round. I'm anxiously awaiting word out of Jackson to see how ol' Cord did tonight. Save the money for travel and motel and food, this is all bonus money. Heck, he won more than $7,200 for last night's ride.

Many of you won't comprehend my passion for rodeo, but if you ever got to meet cowboys like Cord McCoy, you just might. Fortunately, the love of my life, who, as she sits beside me doing her own thing on her own laptop, does understand. I think I met the right girl.

Now if those dadgum results would just come along to my e-mail, I'll be a little more at ease.

Intro

Never thought I'd blog, but, alas, I'm here. Being without work does that to folk. Where I didn't have time on my hands, I now do.

As a semi-regular poster on Erudite Redneck, I have enjoyed the craft, though when I was working a full-time job, I often did freelance stories in what was left of any free time. Not quite sure what this'll be, but I know I'll expound much about my passion for family, friends and the sport of rodeo.

I'm a journalist and thoroughly enjoy telling other people's stories. I hope to do so via this outlet.