Ellerman Resigns As PRCA Commissioner

Ellerman Resigns As PRCA Commissioner.

by Sheila Totten

 Troy Ellerman's short lived but controversial career as the Commissioner of the PRCA came to an abrupt close on February 19th when Ellerman resigned from the position.  It was not the complaints fired against him  ; nor was it the pending lawsuits against the PRCA but Ellerman's own legal problems stemming from  the time when in January,  2005 Northern California  native Attorney Troy Ellerman represented BALCO vice president James Valente in the major headline making steroids case .

It was also in January of 2005 when he accepted the PRCA position.  It turns out  that Ellerman was more than a "suit"  as the northern Californian grew up as part of the trick riding team called "The Flying Cossacks". He went on  to ride bulls but never made it to the upper ranks.He then had a short career as a movie stunt double including doubling for Paul Hogan. Ellerman went on to earn his law degree and went from private practice with a private law firm to the Sacramento D.A.'s office to his own practice in 1995.During this time he remained  part of rodeo as he was appointed to the PRCA's Board of Directors in 1999.

Ellerman's short stint was not all bad as he inherited a 3.6 million dollar debt upon taking office. he made some drastic moves and managed to get the PRCA back upon its financial feet. Still some since ousted board members have charged that  they were ousted for demanding to see the financial records.Ellerman was also criticized for his methods which included  selling the rights to the PRCA's Xtreme Bull Tour.He also sold the rights to yet another rodeo tour to cut the debt.

It was said by former board members that Ellerman would throw a fit  at meetings when questioned about his methods and/or finances.he would swear like a drunken sailor to halt any more questions. In my opinion that's a man who is hiding something.

And still it was not all of this that caused  Ellerman to resign.It was his indictment and ensuing plea bargain resulting from his leak of information from the Grand Jury to reporters for the San Francisco Chronicle.As of February 7th  Ellerman lost his right to practice law in California.He entered his plea bargain in Federal Court on February 16th and now faces several years in jail plus a large fine.He will also face disbarment befor eits all said and done..

I received an e-mail with the following press release today.:

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – On February 19, Troy Ellerman resigned as PRCA commissioner. In a letter of resignation addressed to the PRCA Board of Directors, Ellerman stated, “Due to the fact that I have entered a plea of guilty in the BALCO case, I believe it is in the best interest of the PRCA to resign from my position as commissioner. My resignation will be effective immediately. It has been an honor to serve the PRCA. The PRCA is well served by a strong Board of Directors, and I am confident it will continue to move forward under its direction.”

The PRCA Board accepted Ellerman’s resignation with deep appreciation for his efforts in returning the PRCA to financial health.

“We appreciate Troy’s hard work and dedication to the PRCA during his tenure as PRCA commissioner,” stated PRCA Chairman of the Board Keith Martin. “Thanks in part to his leadership, the PRCA achieved a multi-million-dollar financial turnaround, and is now strong, stable and in position for solid growth.”

In the upcoming days and weeks, the PRCA Board of Directors will work diligently on plans to keep the association moving in a positive direction. Chairman of the Board Martin will serve temporarily as the interim chief executive officer of the PRCA.

Tags: Rodeo

Washington's J.C. Bean Wins The Sunland Park Tuff Hedeman West Texas Shootout

Washington's J.C.Bean Wins The  Sunland Park Tuff Hedeman West Texas Shootout

by Sheila Totten

Once again Tuff Hedeman thrilled the fans in El Paso with yet another great CBR event   The second event of the 2007 season found Tuff there not only  as both its promoter  and the CBR President but as the hometown boy who spent his formative years at Sunland Park exercising horses. They had a great turnout and played to a sellout crowd once again.Tuff gives credit to everyone from the fans and sponsors to the bull riders and the bulls for the success of the event and  shows  a humble and grateful side. Truth is wherever Tuff Hedeman goes the fans still follow. They adore the tuff guy with the big heart. 

J.C. Bean jumped to third place in the CBR standings with his win in El Paso.He rode Scott Burruss's Georgia Sun for 88.5 in the last section of the long go and entered the short go in second place. He was one of only three qualified rides in the championship round,scoring 92 points  on the great PRCA World Champion bull Biloxi Blues(Harlan Robertson) . Only Canada's Chad Besplug could beat him but Scotty Burruss's  Cash Money was the victor in their duel and Bean's 92 point ride won the round and his total of  180.5 on two  won the event.Bean,Besplug and Jarrod Craig  all became the newest members of the American War Heroes 90 Point Club with their 90 and 90+ rides.Besplug won  the long go round with 90 points aboard Harlan Robertson's Ranger while Bean earned his entry with his 92 point ride aboard Biloxi Blues. Jarrod Craig  earned his bonus and entry into the "club" with his 91.5 short go ride on Scotty Burruss's Border Patrol.

The long go was divided into five rounds or sections.The riders dominated in the first round  as Steve Woolsey scored 87.5 aboard Alan Murphy's Dire Straits.Kolt Miller tied with him aboard Murphy's Cherokee Fiddler.Then Hugo Pedrero scored 86 aboard Robbie Herrington's Smokin Joe.Tag Elliott scored 86 on Herrington's Direct Inject and Howdy Cloud scored 87 on Herrington's Sweet Temptation.Once again I want to apologize if I miss a contractor's name as every event there seems to be new initial designations; and without a day sheet  I am at a loss..Clint Craig made a good ride aboard CF's Wam Jam for 86.5.

In round two Ronny Kitchens had it under control when hescored 88.5 aboard Harlen Robertson's Danny Boy.He took a short lived lead in the round as Canada's Chad Besplug was up next and Chad rode Robertson's Ranger for 90 which won the long go when the dust had settled after round five.

Corey Davis scored 80 aboard Robertson's Joker's Wild and Douglas Duncan scored 83.5 aboard  Martinez  Bucking Bulls' Hawkeye.to end the round.

In round three  the bulls were even more in charge than in two as there were only two qualified rides.Jarrod Craig rode MB's  Lil Wayne for 85.5 and Brian Curtis rode HS' Mud Creek for 84.5.

In round four the bulls kept the action up as only Jay Morrow with 88 aboard Owen Washburn's Hack Berry and Chad Castillo aboard Washburn's Black Sheep made the buzzer.

Round five was a repeat as J.C. Bean's  88.5 ride aboard Scotty Burruss' Georgia Sun and Wesley Silcox's ride aboard Thomas Taylor's  Liquid Courage for 80 were the only qualified rides.

The short go was loaded with great bulls per usual as Taylor's Smokeless War Dance blanked Jay Morrow and Lufkin Ranch and Rodeo's Zorro blanked Hugo Pedrero.Another favorite bovine star Pandora's Box blanked Clint Craig.These bulls actually have followings just like the riders and fans love them.Cash money,Mr.Incredible,Banana Man,Foolish Man,Rooster,Move It,Spanky,Hustler and Cowboy Cut also beat the riders out. The three qualified rides were Jarrod Craig aboard Burruss's Border Patrol for 91.5 and second place in the round . The tenth rider out was Chad Castillo and he scored 81.5 aboard  Dirty Sanchez.And of course as the 14th rider out J.C. bean had his round and event winning ride aboard the great Biloxi Blues for 92 points. Harlan may own him  but the bull is a credit to the great breeding program of Roach and Cindy Hedeman.

Watch for the broadcast of this event on The Outdoor Channel.The CBR's next event will be in Lufkin ,Texas on February 24th.

Tags: bull riding news

Greg Potter Wins AMP'd Mobile Invitational

Potter Wins Event title For The Third Time At The PBR AMP' d Mobile Invitational At Anaheim

by Sheila Totten

 Greg Potter surely loves Anaheim.This weekend made the third time  the Australian born rider has won the event title here.Greg rode Charmed I'm Sure in round One  for 84.75 to tie for 16/17 in the round as 21 riders made the whistle.In round two it was Little beaver who was slow going out of the chute ,spinning to the right into Greg's hand and reversing left near the end of the ride getting Greg out of shape.Still he scored 81 for 165.75 on two head. In round three Greg had another respectable ride aboard Cats Meow who took two leaps straight out of the chute before spinning to the left with a lot of drift. Greg scored 84.25 and had 250 on three head going into the short go where he tied for 2/3 with Kody Lostroh (88.75 on C&H's 7 of Hearts) with his ride aboard Berger's Flack Jacket who went into a fast spin to the left away from Greg's hand. Although he never won a round,Greg persevered and was the only rider to top all four bulls this weekend.Great going Greg!

Round one was won by Canadian Rob Bell who sure had a lot more on his mind than riding.His young son is ill and I know we all will be praying for a speedy recovery for him.Rob scored 89.75 points on Corey and Horst's 3 Spot.Brian Herman was second in the round with 88 points on Berger's Flack Jacket while Paolo Crimber was third with 87.75 aboard Diamond G's Orange Crush Jr.J.B. Mauney was fourth with87.50 on C&H's  7 of Hearts.

In round two it was Brian Herman who won the round on Humpz and Hornz's Hot Rod for 89.25 who spun to the right into Brian's  hand then reversed left. Before the round began Chris Shivers was interviewed and  told the crowd that he's been doing some roping as he recuperates.He added that although Tandy feels Chris can return in thirty days Chris  might wait longer.He said he would not be in a position to challenge for this year's title because of all the events he'd miss and he wants to make sure his leg is strong enough to stand up to riding.Chris has learned  to take his time coming back; and that's a good thing.Too many riders come back from an injury too early and  either are not able to ride up to par or get hurt again because they are not healthy enough.A good example is Mike Lee who is competing against the sound advice of Dr. Tandy Freeman. Tandy did not want Mike to ride as yet because of the concussion he had suffered;and Mike's riding average has fallen sharply since he returned.Tonight he bucked off of Black Dancer  who is a bull Mike normally would have rode well.In round one he bucked off of Top Gun who only scored 39.25.

Ross Johnson looked good aboard Ryan McClure's Hypnotic as Ross finished tied for 2/3 with 88 points  with Kody Lostroh who rode Flying U/Moreno's High Waters.J.W. Hart finished in a tie for  4/5 with 86.50 aboard Diamond G's T-Box with Brian Canter aboard Performance Livestock/Gene Owen's Criminal Mind.

There were a lot of rerides in the round starting with Cody Whitney's 72.50 ride aboard Domino Dip who never got into a spin but faked left and right just hop,skip and jumping.Silvanei Dias got a reride option after  his bull made one spin then jumped out of it and made a straight loping buck.If Billy Robinson had hung on he would have had a reride as Painted Wolf's bull score was only 30 Unfortunately Evan Rasch ran into a similar  problem when  he came down early from Judd Leffew's bull Money man  who leaped forward  in a wild and fast movement then went sideways.Evan hit the dirt hard but is ok.The bull only scored 37.75.T-Bits faked left then circled right in a loping buck to give Mike White  a reride option with 65.25 points.So many  good bulls had bad trips Kasey Hayes got a reride when Pastor Ray just faked right and loped straight for 73.50.Turbo had an awful trip scoring 26.50 as he just ran  around the arena in a lope.Brian Canter got a reride when Sling Shot went into a flat ,slow drifting spin for 69.50.

Cody Whitney lost his reride score when Jesse's Ride bucked him off but Mike White scored 84.50 on Freightliner.Brian Canter got another reride when Choctaw had a bad trip bucking straight for over 5 seconds before circling right away from Brian's hand.Kasey ha yes could not get out on his reride bull PFI's Disco Baby and was given adopter bull. 

Brian Canter made a great recovery when Criminal Mind went sideways with a stumblestep then faked right then spun left and finally reversed back right.Brian scored 86.5 .

Kasey Hayes scored 84.75 on his reride aboard Speedy Gonzales who went into a fast spin with good action into Kasey's hand.

In round three it was  Sean Willingham on  Berger's Irishman Pat and Travis Briscoe on H&H Hot rod who tied for 1/2 in the round.Beau Hill was third aboard C&H's 3 Spot with 87.25 points while Billy Robinson was 4th on Berger's Peacemaker with 87.

 Brian Canter thrilled the crowd with his 91 point ride on Rice Ranch's Mud Flap who spun to the right away from Brian's hand  with lots of action.Brian kept moving forward jump for jump with his hips and looked picture perfect.Kody Lostroh scored 88.75 on Corey and Horst's 7 of Hearts who Kody tied    with Greg Potter on  Berger's Flack jacket and that fast spinning ride to the left away from Greg's hand was the event winner.Justin McBride  finished fourth with 88.25 aboard C&H's Rez Boy who took two huge leaps out of the chute then spun to the right into Justin's hand be for reversing left.and nearly getting Justin off  before the buzzer.

 It was in round three that Mike Lee once again came down hard on his head and was also glanced by the bull's hind legs.Poke slammed Mike down after the second jump and his back hooves came down on Mike's  protective helmet.he sustained another concussion, a lacerated left ear and a possible broken Leaf jaw .Once again Tandy will have a talk with Mike about the wisdom of taking time off to heal from a head injury.I sure hope Mike listens this time. Next weekend is the Challenger Finals in OKC  but Mike is questionable for the BFTS in St Louis on February 23rd weekend. Brian Herman who also sustained a concussion is probable for St.Louis.

Justin McBride who was 10 points behind in second place after round two is now  back in first in the BFTS standings by over 200 points.

Tags: Bull Riding News

PBR News-Worcester Through Atlanta

PBR Results And News

by Sheila Totten

The PBR has so many events its hard to keep up with them anymore.J.B.Mauney won his second event of the season when he won the annual event held in Worcester,Mass. Mauney was on a rip,riding at 100% and was entrenched in first place with former World Champion Mike Lee in second place in the standings.Three time World Champion Adriano Moraes was in fifth place while Guilherme Marchi was in third and Brian Canter was in fourth in the BFTS standings The normal crowd was not there thanks to the stormy weather but they  did draw a good crowd.I just wish they would not advertise a full house or capacity crowd when we viewers can see many empty seats..As in NYC there were quite a few injuries in Worcester including the following:.Travis Briscoe (Edgewood, N.M. ) – Injured cartilage in right knee, doubtful to compete.
Ednei Caminhas (P. Alves, SP, Brazil) – Ankle sprain, probable.
Brendon Clark (Morpeth, NSW, Australia) – Ankle sprain, probable.
Sevi Torturo (Oklahoma City, Okla.) – Reinjured riding elbow, probable to compete.

Then it was onto Fresno and the Table Mountain Casino where Mighty Mike White looked great as he  rode Corey and Horst's 7 of Hearts for 84.75  to win the event with a total of 173 on two head.Matt Bohon was second in the event while Rocky McDonald who has been doing great  was third and Greg Potter was 4th.

It was then onto Sacramento where 2005 PBR World Champion Justin McBride won his first event of the season.Justin tied for 4/5 in round one aboard Gene Bowen's Balboa with 86.5 while another former champion,Mike Lee won the round aboard Owen's Jesse's Ride with 89 points.He was followed by Steven Shelley aboard Page and teague's Night Life with 88 points and Three time World Champion Adriano Moraes in third place with 87.75 points aboard Ed Hill's Smokin' Joe.Greg Potter tied with Justin aboard Hill's Powder

Burn.

 In round two it was Luke Snyder in the lead with 88 points on Rice Ranch's Mr.Harrison while Brian canter rode Haines/Owens Pandemonium for 87.5 and second place in the round.Justin McBride was third in the round with 87.25 on Performance Livestock/Owen's Sugar Ray while Mike Lee tied for 4/5 in the round with one of my favorite riders,Clarksville ,TN's own Evan Rasch at 87 points.Mike rode Flying U/Moreno's Clarissa Plains while Evan rode Kaycee Simpson's Red Alert.Goodgoing Evan!Have to root for my hometown riders ,guys!

In the championship round it was Dustin Hall who led the way with 90.75 on Gene Owen's  Team Equine Cow Pix.Justin McBride was second with 90.5 aboard Naccarato's  All In to win the event..Guillermo Marchi scored 90.25 on Page and Teague's Crossfire Hurricane while Rocky McDonald was 4th with 88.25 on Wintwister..Justin looked great  and is riding hot. He moved up to fouth place in the overall standings.

 Then it was back east to Raleigh,NC and the Dale JR PBR Clash. Silvanei Dias won his first BFTS event  with the only qualified ride in the championship round .He scored 88.5 aboard best Western to win the event.Dale Earnhardt JR seemed very pleased with the event.

There were again several injuries in this three day event .They were as follows:Mike Lee (Decatur, Texas) sustained a concussion and is questionable to compete.
Travis Briscoe (Edgewood, NM) - Possible facial fracture and X-rays are scheduled, still competing.
Cody Hart (Gainesville, TX) - Injured right wrist and is questionable to compete.
Greg Potter (Queensland, Australia) - As a result of a hip pointer, will not be competing in Tampa or Atlanta.

Justin Mcbride looked like he was on a roll to take his second title as he won round one aboard Berger/Struve's Evil Forces The rest of the top 5 were: 2) Matt Bohon (Cole Camp, Mo.) 89 points on Boyd/Floyd/Paradise Farms' Jeopardy, $5,000; 3/4) J.B. Mauney (Mooresville, N.C.) 88.75 points on Boyd/Floyd/Paradise Farms' Hillstreet, $2,500; 3/4) Mike White (De Kalb, Texas) 88.75 points on Page and Teague's Bucking Bulls' Black Smoke, $2,500; 5) Mike Lee (Decatur, Texas) 87.25 points on Boyd/Floyd/Paradise Farms' Lost in Paradise, $1,200.Round Two was topped by Cody Hart: 1) Cody Hart (Gainesville, Texas) 87.5 points on Bad Company Rodeo's Born to Boogie, $2,730; 2) Dustin Hall (Springfield, Mo.) 86.5 points on Boyd/Floyd/Paradise Farms' Wildlife, $1,950; 3) Rocky McDonald (Col. Juarez, MX) 86.25 points on Boyd/Floyd/Paradise Farms' Minimus, $1,170; 4) Robson Palermo (Rio Branco, BZ) 86 points on Berger/Ryken's Rockin Robin, $780.

In round three it was Cord McCoy who came out on top.Cord McCoy (Tupelo, Okla.) 88.75 points on Frontier and Teague Bucking Bulls' Chain Reaction, $2,730; 2) Dusty Labeth (Louisburg, Kan.) 88.25 points on Tommy Schrader and Anchor Bull Company's Dog Dip, $1,950; 3) Mark Lopes (Pioneer, Calif.) 87.75 points on Tommy Schrader and Anchor Bull Company's Encore, $1,170 4/5) Wiley Petersen (Fort Hall, Idaho) 87.25 points on Page & Teague Bucking Bulls' Cover Page, $624; 4/5) Brian Canter (Randleman, N.C.) 87.25 points on Berger/Whitford's Big Mack, $624.

The order of finish in the event for the top places was as follows:1) Silvanei Dias (Populina, SP, BZ) 254.75 points, $33,495; 2) Dustin Hall (Springfield, Mo.) 173.5 points, $15,550; 3) Justin McBride (Elk City, Okla.) 173 points, $26,500; 4) Brian Herman (Victoria, Texas) 172.5 points, $5,673. As Mike Lee held on to first place in the standings Justin McBride inched up to third place behind J.B.Mauney.

Following the Dale JR  event the PBR announced its first cut of the season. Dropped off of the BFTS were Marcello Cruz,Jody Newberry, Corey Navarre, Dusty LaBeth, Shane Proctor and Cory Melton. When they spoke about this  they had said they had changed the format to dropping ten riders instead of five and bringing up the top ten in the CT series. Well,they only have listed seven here.Also another change is that riders out injured including World Champions will only have five events to compete in before they could be cut..Chris Shivers has all five events remaining because his injuries occurred before the regular season.L.J.Jenkins has five events,Cory Rasch has four,Allan Moraes has four,Cody Whitney has three,Chad Denton has three,Danny Jo Fowler has two and Sevi Torturo has one.

 The riders advancing to the BFTS will be Harve Stewart,Tyler Smith,Ross Johnson,Michael Riggs and Matt Werries.

As the PBR again headed to the southeast,fans wrote in confused about these cuts when they saw both Corey Melton and Shane Proctor still riding.Due to rider injuries they remained up as alternates.

In Tampa is was a second victory for 2005 World Champion Justin McBride who, if he stays healthy may just notch his second World title.In the first round Justin rode  Texas Two Step for 84.25 and 11th place in the round.Only 14 riders made the buzzer.Mike White kept his winning ways up as he took the first round with a good ride aboard Mule Train for 88 points .he was followed by a tie for 2/3  between Austin Meier and Robson Palermo at 87.50.Kasey Hayes and Travis Briscoe tied for 4/5 with 87 and J.B. Mauney finished 6th with 86..25. Rounding out the top ten were Cory Melton with 86 points for 7th place,Scott Schiffner in 8th with 85.75,Rocky McDonald in 9th with 85.25 and Shane Proctor in 10th with 84.75.

There were only two qualified rides  in the short go as Justin McBride  took the round and the event with a great ride aboard Smash Hit for 90.25.Kasey Hayes scored 87.25 aboard Barbosa. The average looked like this: 

 Justin McBride 174.50 474.50 $30,790.00
2 Kasey Hayes 174.25 509.25 $17,134.00
3 Mike White 88.00 348.00 $11,230.00
4/5 Austin Meier 87.50 302.50 $6,435.00
4/5 Robson Palermo 87.50 302.50 $6,435.00
6 Travis Briscoe 87.00 252.00 $3,424.00
7 J.B. Mauney 86.25 216.25 $2,562.00
8 Cory Melton 86.00 186.00 $2,134.00
9 Scott Schiffner 85.75 155.75 $1,756.00
10 Rocky McDonald 85.25 125.25 $1,430.00
11 Shane Proctor 84.75 94.75 $1,000.00
12 Mike Lee 83.75 83.75 $1,000.00
13/14 Evan Rasch 83.25 83.25 $1,000.00
13/14 Matt Bohon 83.25 83.25 $1,000.00

Then it was onto the Georgia Dome for Saturday's Atlanta event.Kasey Hayes made his mark in the record books as he won his first BFTS event of the season just one night after his second place finish.Hayes won round one with his 89 point ride aboard Berger/Dakota Cattle Company's White Diamond and that began the accolades for the 21 year old. He won Cabela's World Most Foremost Ride for the high marked ride of the event.Then the thrilled Hayes won the Ford Truck Moment of Truth Bonus which was up to $50,000 awarded only if the rider who is leading going into the championship round wins the event.

 But it was not all Kasey Hayes wowing fans.The bovine stars really showed out;and the hardly ever rode Just A Dream from Jerry Nelson's Frontier Rodeo (now partnered with Tom Teague on the bull)gave up an 87.50 ride as he could not shake Shane Proctor off.Having just been cut and present as an alternate ,this great ride  had to really bolster Proctor and move him back up in the standings. Proctor  after this ride did led the event up till  Kasey Hayes rode Page and Teague's Sunshine for 88.5 to win the round and the event with 177.5 on two.

Jason Bennett was 2nd in Round One with 87. 25 and reigning World Champion and only three time PBR World Champion Adriano Moraes was third in the first round  with 86.5. Ross Coleman was second in the short go with 87.75 aboard Berger/Struvie's Cooter. The top of the leader board for the average went as thus:OVERALL EVENT STANDINGS: 1) Kasey Hayes (Liberal, Kan.) 177.5 points, $82,610; 2) Shane Proctor (Grand Coulee, Wash.) 170 points, $14,820; 3) Ross Coleman (Molalla, Ore.) 87.74 points, $10,100; 4) Jason Bennett (Honeygrove, Texas) 87.25 points, $7,350; 5) Adriano Moraes (Cachoeira Paulista, Sao Paulo, Brazil) 86.5 points, $5,520.Justin McBride has taken over the lead in the standings with J.B. Mauney in second place and Mike Lee in third.