Home » Sports » Rodeo Culture » 2002 Winter Olympics Rustles in Rodeo Events

2002 Winter Olympics Rustles in Rodeo Events

© Diana Rowe Martinez

Winter Olympics. When you hear that, do you think figure skating, skiing, and rodeo? In the Calgary, Alberta 1988 Winter Games, rodeo played to sold out crowds when it made its first appearance in association with the Olympics and now the Olympics rodeo is back! February 9-11, 2002 at Salt Lake City, rodeo enters the Olympic arena again in an event called the Cultural Olympiad Rodeo.

Going for the buckle will have a “gold” lining at the 2002 Winter Games for a group of cowboys. Top rodeo cowboys and cowgirls will share the world stage with sports athletes from around the world in a three-day PRCA rodeo held February 9 to 11 at the Davis Fair Park’s Legacy Center.

The 2002 U.S. Olympiad Rodeo will bring champs from major PRCA events to Salt Lake to compete in seven rodeo events during three performances for $140,000 in prize money. We’ll find out just who can ride for the gold. Will it be the U.S.A.? Or will our eyes be north of the border at Canada?

Who gets to go? Forty each of the United States and Canada’s top cowboys and cowgirls will rustle up a rodeo that the world will not forget. The rodeo will feature teams of five competitors in each of the following seven events:

· Bareback Riding · Steer Wrestling · Team Roping · Saddle Bronc Riding · Calf Roping · Barrel Racing · Bull Riding

According to http://www.prorodeo.com and PRCA Commissioner Steven J. Hatchell, “This is a tremendous opportunity for the sport of rodeo to play not only before audiences from North America, but around the world.” The 2002 Olympic experience chalks up another notch on Hatchell’s belt, who has helped rodeo achieve unprecedented growth and television exposure since first coming to office in 1998. Under Hatchell, rodeo’s prime-time broadcast exposure has grown to a record 105 hours in 2000. The U.S. team consists of the champions, or highest-ranking U.S. competitor from the following rodeos:

·Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, March 14-17, 2001, Pocatello, Idaho

·Winter Tour Finale of the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour, June 14-16, 2001, Las Vegas, NV

·Summer Tour Finale of the Wrangler Pro Rodeo Tour in October 2001

·National Finals Rodeo, December 7-16, 2001 Las Vegas, NV

·2001 World Champions, December 7, 16, 2001, Las Vegas, NV

Now that the 2001 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is over, the U.S. team is complete, and here are the lucky players (unofficial excerpted from: http://www.prorodeo.com/Today/06.weeklyn...

·Bareback Riding: Rocky Steagall, Clovis, Calif.; Kelly Wardell, Bellevue, Idaho; Larry Sandvick, Belle Fourche, S.D.; Clint Corey, Powell Butte, Ore., and Lan LaJeunesse, Morgan, Utah.

The copyright of the article 2002 Winter Olympics Rustles in Rodeo Events in Rodeo Culture is owned by Diana Rowe Martinez. Permission to republish 2002 Winter Olympics Rustles in Rodeo Events in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.