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Outside Circle: PRCA news, horse sales, Wyoming brand renewals, California Chrome to Dubai

It’s sure been nice weather, hasn’t it? The early calvers have really had a pretty good go of it. I heard that the grizzlies around Yellowstone have been up and about due to the nice weather so am thankful I’m not closer to them! It’s still a long way until spring by the calendar so perhaps they’ll go back to bed when it gets cold again.

I’m sure liking looking at the tie down roping standings in the PRCA. Spearfish, S.D.’s Dane Kissack is in the five hole with a nice check from Ft. Worth helping him along. He’s one of the truly nice guys of the sport and I’d like to see him have a great year. Also, we just hardly ever have anyone from up in the northern plains in the tie down standings. It must be harder to rope in mittens so they don’t get as much practice in over the winter as the southern boys do.

It’s also nice to see Chuck Schmidt, Keldron, South Dakota, back in competition after almost a year being laid up with an injury. He won the saddle broncs at Bismarck’s PRCA rodeo.



An arson fire in Chicago has destroyed the building and carriages of two carriage ride companies. Both family owned, the carriages were a total loss. Fortunately no people or horses were hurt. Graffiti found at the scene said “freedom” and “save the horses,” so obviously, the anti-carriage horse nutcases are pretty thrilled with their work.

Gordon Livestock, Gordon, Nebraska will be having an open consignment horse sale on Friday, Feb. 27. Call Bob for info at 308-282-1171.



Wyoming brand renewals have to be in by March 1. If your certificate ends in -5, you should have gotten a renewal notice, so check to be sure. They got about 300 notices back due to lack of correct address. You can call 307-777-7515 to let them know your current address.

Well, California Chrome ran second in the San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita. He ran a great race, simply got outrun on the stretch. He’ll next run in the $10 million Dubai World Cup (G1) on March 28. He’ll be shipping to Dubai soon to prepare for that.

Gollihers have set dates for their Spring Series barrel races. They are March 22 and 28, April 11,12, and 25, with the finals on April 26 and the makeup race on March 29. You can call Golliher Arena, Belle Fourche, South Dakota, at 605-642-5363 for info. It’s also a good idea to call ahead if the weather is bad to be sure they’re having it.

The Double J Horse Sale, Dickinson, North Dakota, will be May 9 at Stockman’s Livestock Exchange. Deadline for the catalog is March 2, so give them a call or email at 701-230-3044 (Joe Hickel) or 701-720-6674 (John Bearman) or horsesale@nccray.com. You can get a form off the website at http://www.doublejhorsesales.com.

The National Circuit Finals Steer Roping will be April 25-26 at Torrington, Wyoming. For tickets or further information, call 307-532-1592 or 307-532-2525.

The Ag Complex at Wright, Wyoming is coming along nicely with completion expected this spring. It will have indoor/outdoor arenas and boarding facilities. It’s sure going to be a boon to the little community of Wright.

For those of you who like to go to Bill and Deb Myers horse sale to buy a prospect or simply to drool over them, you’re going to have to drive a little further. This year’s sale on Aug. 22, will be held at Copper Springs Ranch, Bozeman, Montana in conjunction with their sale. As always, you can check out their program at http://www.frenchmansguy.com or email them at lazybm@wildblue.net.

The skunks have been out rambling around again, so it would probably be a good idea to get rabies vaccinations updated on your pets and even your horses. It’s such a nasty disease, always fatal, and the only way to prevent it is to vaccinate against it. Skunks are one of the prime vectors for it. I tend to “vaccinate” any skunk I see with a .22 magnum round. It sure stops the spread of disease in a hurry.

Well, that’s my column for the week. Please send me your event info and any other items you think should be in my column. I’m always happy to help out with a good cause.