You could say the Windy Ryon Memorial Roping this weekend is horse heaven for the lariat crowd.
For 33 years, the event in Saginaw, just north of Fort Worth, has featured some of the world's best horses and team ropers, tie-down ropers and steer ropers.
This year is no exception, but there will be a change in the format that promoters say will bring new excitement to tie-down roping. The event will feature Xtreme Elapsed Time Championship tie-down roping matches, which pits two ropers leaving side-by-side boxes, drag-racing style.
The rules are the same – rope the calf, dismount, throw the calf and tie any three legs. The ropers compete against each other in a head-to-head tournament. Although it's a relatively new concept, the "win or you're out" style has generated excitement with ropers and fans at venues it has been performed. This weekend will be the first time it has been produced in the area.
"I think the fans will really enjoy it," said Ken Lynch, a member of the event's organizing committee. "It's been real successful wherever it's been used so far."
The XETC matches Saturday will be limited to the top 16 ropers, who will be determined by the best times from the 40 who have entered the Coors Invitational Tie-Down Roping starting at 1 p.m.
The field reads like a mini-Wrangler National Finals Rodeo roster. Ropers such as three-time world all-around champion Trevor Brazile, four-time world tie-down roping champion Cody Ohl, and NFR qualifiers Stran Smith, Blair Burk, Clint Cooper and Johnny Emmons are some of the featured contestants.
The three-day event kicks off Friday at the Windy Ryon Arena, located at North Loop 820 and Highway 287 in Saginaw.
The first day will be devoted solely to team roping, beginning with the women's competition. The open category follows and will highlight such ropers as world champions Jake Barnes, Clay O'Brien Cooper, Rich Skelton and Speed Williams.
The event ends Sunday with steer roping. Guy Allen, an 18-time world champion, heads the list of entries.
A head-to-head steer wrestling match between Cash Myers and Bray Armes also will take place Sunday.
The event, named after the late western store owner Windy Ryon, raises money each year to provide scholarships for young men and women involved with livestock and agriculture.
Roping matches return to Cowtown: The "Victory for Val" Super Star Tie-Down Roping Matches will return Sunday at Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
The event will feature matches with three-time world all-around champion Trevor Brazile along with NFR qualifiers Blair Burk, Clint Cooper and Houston Hutto. Brazilian champion Nilton Brago and Tuff Cooper round out the field.
Eight-time world champion Rich Skelton and Brazile headline the team roping category.
The event starts at 7:30 p.m., following the Windy Ryon Roping.
The roping is named after Val Stressman, the wife of Wrangler Jeans director of marketing, Karl Stressman. Val Stressman has been fighting a battle with cancer for more than six years. Last year, the event raised over $30,000 for the Val Stressman Foundation for Cancer Research.
Moraes honored: Two-time Professional Bull Riders world champion Adriano Moraes will be immortalized in a life-size bronze statue, which will appear at the entrance of the new PBR World headquarters in Pueblo, Colo.
Moraes, who is from Brazil but lives in Keller, was selected by PBR fans who participated in voting. The $5 contributions accompanying all votes raised $20,515 for the Greg Crabtree Memorial Fund and for the family of former PBR World Finals qualifier Beau Lindley of Apache Junction, Ariz.
