The Finale’s contestant list reads like a who’s who in Rodeo, with 83 cowboys and 12 barrel racers qualified, and of these, 13 have won a combined 45 world championships. Bulldogger Chad Biesemeyer, Bareback riders Lan LaJeunesse, Kelly Wardell and Scott Johnston, Saddle bronc star Dan Mortensen, team ropers Speed Williams and Rich Skeleton, defending Copenhagen Finale bull riding champ Lee Akin, and barrel racers Kristie Peterson, Charmayne James, and Kappy Allen are just a sampling of the contestants’ list. Bareback rider Wes Stevenson shattered left leg may have stopped him for a while, but he’s back to add some money and perhaps a title to his name in Dallas.
This event will take place at the new $400 million American Airlines Center, and this is the first rodeo event (or any type of event on dirt) to be hosted at the Center. The Center is located due north of Dallas’s historic West End. This facility will be home to the Dallas Mavericks NBA Basketball team and the Dallas Stars NHL Hockey team.
But this go-round, Dallas and the American Airlines Center will be the site of a stampede of rodeo cowboys, perhaps a little more than usual. Immediately following the rodeo performances country superstars, like Alan Jackson, Sara Evans, Lee Ann Womack and Martina McBride, will entertain the crowds.
The 2001 Finale is scheduled for October 25-28, and it promises to be an exciting one. The Finale is the championship event of the PRCA’s Wrangler summer ProRodeo Tour. Cowboys make the Copenhagen Cup Finale by placing in the top 12 in their event from the Tour’s 10 rodeos.
The top 12 contestants in each of the seven events will compete for a share of $700,000 in prize money and bonuses during the five-day event. These contestants duel in the first four rounds with the top eight in the average advancing the semifinal round on Sunday, October 28. In the semifinals, the cowboys’ slates are wiped clean, and they start from scratch. The semi-final’s round’s top four scores and times determines the four finalists in each event. The final-round scores and times will determine the winners in each event.
Go To Page: 1 2
