story by Lily Weinacht
Kurt Warner of Montour Falls, New York, is announcing the APRA finals rodeo for the second time in a row this November. The 43-year-old educator, husband, and father of two has been on the other side of the arena as well, having qualified for the AFR several times in the team roping, along with the PRCA Frontier Circuit Finals. But in 2010, after inadvertently walking into an announcing job, Kurt found that being behind the microphone was equally as rewarding as being behind the barrier.
“We were at a roping, and I didn’t know it at the time, but my friend Darren Morgan told the producer that I had been announcing rodeos. I had never touched a microphone-I didn’t even know how to turn one one-and the producer handed it to me and I made something up for three minutes,” Kurt recalls. By the end of the day, he had a Double M Rodeo to announce in two weeks in Ballston Spa, New York, and the opportunity to rope after the rodeo. “The first rodeo, I did the whole thing on iTunes, and the music part was terrible. I got done and thought that was probably my last time, and the guy told me he had 19 more for me to do. It snowballed from there, and now I have 70 performances a year.”
Along with the AFR, Kurt is also announcing the IPRA Northeastern Region Finals Rodeo for the second time this year, along with working PRCA rodeos. “Atlantic City has a pretty unique facility, and from an announcer’s standpoint, it’s a pretty cool venue because you can have a dark house,” Kurt says of the AFR. Having grown up rodeoing with many of the competitors in the APRA, he had little difficulty with knowing the background information to share with the crowd, and what he didn’t know, he learned. “The main thing I had to learn was how to entertain a crowd and how to do the music. Being a teacher and having an educational background, that worked out well, because teaching and rodeo kind of go hand in hand. I have to entertain my students and keep them engaged with what I’m teaching, and that goes right along with the crowd.
“I’m inspired by my wife, Jamie; God; and my students. It’s interesting to see their reaction to what their teacher does and how it inspires them to do new things, and be open-minded and work hard,” says Kurt, who is a literacy specialist and teaches fourth grade at Elmira Heights. “My wife is the heart and soul of everything—she takes care of the kids, and nothing could happen without her. My mom and dad and brothers are all supportive of it, and my friends—everybody gets behind it. In the summertime, my family went with me for about three weeks. I have a camper I haul around, and we went to carnivals and did sightseeing during the day and lots of rodeos at night.” Kurt, Jamie, and their daughters, Karlee (7), and Olivia (4), also enjoy fishing and riding four-wheelers, and they’re competing in several youth rodeos and playdays this fall. Kurt continues to team rope at jackpots in the winter as well.
“Where I’m at right now in my life, it’s all about giving back to rodeo. Wherever God wants me, I’m open to it. I just want to do my part to make rodeo the best it can be, and give my children an opportunity to grow up and participate in rodeo. I’m all about trying my best at the rodeos I have and hopefully making it a better sport.”
