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No Winter Blues in Rodeo

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By Phillip Kitts

With most of America fighting off the winter blues and setting their sights on the warmth of spring, the rodeo world is already heating up. It is often common chatter about how the rodeo world really does not have an off season. In October when the regular season wraps up, it is not even a week before rodeo athletes start running to fall rodeos so they can start building up money toward the next year’s finals. It is true that fall rodeos do not have big payouts, but many athletes take the every dollar counts approach and throw several of them on the calendar.

November and December may be the slowest months of the rodeo year, but believe it or not, there are still plenty of places rodeo athletes can go and earn a small check. Traditionally the number of rodeos in the winter months is lower, but the few events that do happen tend to have big payouts. Pretty much every rodeo fan knows all about places like Denver, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Rapid City. These are all big scale events with huge payouts.

To read more, pick up a copy of the March issue of NTFR Magazine. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.

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Equine

The Danger of Lower Limb Wounds of Horses

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By Garrett Metcalf, DVM

It is common for horse owners to have a horse with a wound or laceration at some point in their life. Sometimes small lacerations can be perceived as benign, inconsequential problems that do not need immediate veterinary attention and are managed by the owners or trainers initially. Unfortunately, these simple-looking wounds can involve very important anatomical structures that can lead to serious infections that can be life-threatening or, at best career-limiting, for the horse.

Large wounds tend to get all the attention from owners or trainers because when they occur they are so obvious and visually appalling that medical attention is sought almost immediately. Those types of large wounds can be devastating, but they often involve the upper body regions of the horse, which heal better and often don’t involve structures such as joints or tendons.

To read more, pick up a copy of the March issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.

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Equine

A Rodeo Photographer’s Journey

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By Phillip Kitts

Have you ever wondered what the rodeo looks like for contract personnel in the winter?
This month we will look at what the winter months look like from the rodeo photographer’s perspective.

To understand the time and demands that go into a career as a rodeo photographer, let’s start at when the season gets busy. Not all rodeo photographers work the same. There are many varieties in their career field. They can vary from the few weekends here and there to the full-timer who travels more than 30 weekends a year.

The full-timer that spends most of their year working usually hits the road in late winter. Yes, the winter months are slower but the photographer who has cemented themselves into the field usually books a few during late winter.

Rolling into the spring it begins to get busy. Depending on the photographer, spring can start with an every other weekend type schedule all the way to every weekend through the summer. In 2023 there were photographers that had 20-plus weeks straight going from rodeo to rodeo.
When late fall rolls in things begin to slow down, even for the go-getter who books everything they can.

To read more, pick up a copy of the March issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.

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Equine

Where Legends are Made

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By Krista Lucas Wynn

The format of the American Rodeo, now known in its entirety as the American Western Weekend, has changed quite a bit throughout the years. The inaugural American Rodeo was held in 2014 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It is now held at Globe Life Field, across the street, with two full days of reined cow horse, cutting, reining, and rodeo competition.
Rodeo cowboys and cowgirls have been working to qualify for the 2024 event since last January. It is a long road to the American, starting with qualifier events all over the country. If a competitor wins money at a qualifier, they then advance to the regional finals in Las Vegas, Oklahoma City and Lexington, Ky.

Then, the top five from each event move on to the Contender Finals in Abilene, Texas, Feb. 10. There, the field will continue to be narrowed down to five in each event to compete at the American rodeo.

To read more, pick up a copy of the March issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.

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