Category Archives: TwisTed Rodeo

By Ted Harbin Photo Courtesy of Ted Harbin There’s a different aura surrounding this Fourth of July. It’s the 250th anniversary of the United States of America gaining its sovereignty from the British, the semiquincentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Americans have honored that specific day for centuries, and rightfully so. It’s  Continue Reading »

By Ted Harbin Photo Courtesy of PRCA File Photos by Lara St Jacques Much like any craftsman, Rocky Patterson has a way of making things work in ways nobody else could. In rodeo, passion is the driving force. It’s the love of the game at its most core level. Before he added any credential to  Continue Reading »

Charro Shares Family Passion with Rodeo By Ted Harbin / Photo Courtesy of Charro on the Road His silver mane and tail, along with his golden coat, has brightened any arena or stall he has entered. Hollywood is a 24-year-old stallion owned by the Garcilazo family, who showed the beautiful palomino in ways only they  Continue Reading »

Kipp’s Turn At The Top May Be Right Now By Ted Harbin Photo Courtesy of Tyke Kipp It’s early June, and Tyke Kipp is in unfamiliar territory. If the season were to end today, he’d earn his first qualification to the National Finals Rodeo, something every cowboy dreams of when he dreams of being a  Continue Reading »

Pain in the Neck: The Lives of Bareback Riders By Ted Harbin Photo Courtesy of Click Thompson For decades, rodeo fans have been drawn by the danger of the sport. Optics point to bull riding as the most perilous. The beasts are typically massive, with nearly a ton of bucking flesh. The rides can be  Continue Reading »

By Ted Harbin /Photos Courtesy of Aaron Witt He didn’t want to think it was possible, but Tim O’Connell couldn’t help but wonder if his career as a professional rodeo cowboy was over. “It was frustrating to think my career was over, that I was never going to truly do this anymore and not be  Continue Reading »

New Book Captures Estes Park’s Rooftop Rodeo History By Ted Harbin//Photo Courtesy of Rooftop Rodeo When Howell Wright was in high school, he realized he wanted to write a book on American sports. Influenced by being raised on a cattle ranch in central Arkansas, he began the process by attending his county fair. What started  Continue Reading »

Rodeo Memories Are Unlike Any Other By Ted Harbin/Photo Courtesy of Wade Thibodeaux Sometimes smells trigger it. Sometimes it’s a sound or photograph, but memories are parts of our daily lives. What is a greatest rodeo memory? Maybe it was the first gold-buckle moment or a 25-hour drive in a van loaded with bronc busters  Continue Reading »

A New Pope Has Arrived in Kansas By Ted Harbin Photo courtesy of Jess Pope One of the topics of interest this past weekend in the Oklahoma Panhandle was 2022 world champion bareback rider Jess Pope. How could the three-time Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo champion miss out on an opportunity to win a fourth trophy  Continue Reading »

By Ted Harbin Photo Courtesy of the Lynette Harbin While working as a journalist covering the 2001 Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo, I met the love of my life. I just didn’t realize it for four years. By May 2005, our relationship had grown, and I made my way back to the Oklahoma Panhandle on another  Continue Reading »