Mark your calendars rodeo fans because the Grand Canyon Pro Rodeo Association Finals are just around the corner!

November 9th to 10th, 2018
Mojave Crossing Event Center

This year’s GCPRA Finals will be held at the Mojave Crossing Event Center just across the Colorado River from the beautiful Avi Resort & Casino. With an event center that can seat thousands, Mohave Crossing and the Avi Resort & Casino are the perfect host for this year’s GCPRA Finals Rodeo.

The Mojave Crossing Event Center is located at 101 Aztec Rd, Fort Mohave, AZ 86426. The Avi Resort & Casino is located at Aha Macav Parkway, Laughlin, NV. Make sure to book your stay for the 2018 Grand Canyon Pro Rodeo Finals with Avi Resort & Casino! For room rates, check out the Avi Resort & Casino website.The best of the best cowgirls and cowboys from across the southwest and beyond will compete in this year’s GCPRA season finals. Athletes will come out to compete in all your favorite rodeo events, including Bareback, Steer Wrestling, Tie Down Roping, Breakaway Roping, Saddle Bronc, Team Roping, Barrel Racing, and Bull Riding.

This family-friendly event will occur Friday, November 9th and Saturday, November 10th. Gates will open one hour prior to each rodeo performance. Friday night’s performance will begin at 7:00 pm and Saturday’s performance will begin at 2:00 pm. Tickets start at $10.00 for general admission.

For a full list of ticket pricing and seating availability, visit the Avi Resort and Casino website’s list.

In an Interview with Rodeo News, the GCPRA President, Barrett Littell states “The Grand Canyon finals are my favorite. We work to get there, and they put on such a great finals.” Littell is proud to welcome seasoned and new rodeo goers alike to the 2018 GCPRA Finals in Mojave, Arizona.

Cowboy Lifestyle Network has proudly covered the Grand Canyon Pro Rodeo Association Finals for 7 years. We hope that you will join us in celebrating another year of rodeo excitement. This year’s GCPRA Finals are sure to entertain as talented cowboys, cowgirls, and animal athletes alike compete for the coveted title of GCPRA 2018 Rodeo Finals champions.

Join CLN as we root on our favorite cowboys and cowgirls at the 2018 Grand Canyon Pro Rodeo Association Finals at the Mojave Event Center and Avi Resort & Casino!

Since opening in 1941, the Cow Palace has welcomed more than 50 million visitors through its doors. And on October 12th-13th & 19th-20th, it will be showcasing the 2018 Grand National Livestock, Horse Show and Rodeo!

Since its beginning in 1941, the Grand National Rodeo at the Cow Palace has brought rodeo, agricultural heritage and entertainment to the San Francisco Bay Area. The top cowgirls and cowboys put their skills to the test in professional PRCA rodeo. From the opening ceremony and grand entry to the timed events, rough stock rides and contract acts, the Grand National Rodeo is bound to be pure spectacle.

Contestants will be participating in the following events: bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, women’s barrel racing, and bull riding. The GNR will also be welcoming stars from past events, including Cotton Rosser, Anthony Lucia, Bobby Kerr Mustangs and Justin “Rumpshaker” Rumford. Additionally, guests will have a chance to meet Miss Grand National Rodeo Sydney Frank.

Box seats for adults, seniors (62+), children (2-12), groups (15 or more) all come in at $45. Dress circle tickets for adults come in at$25, and for seniors (62+) and children (2-12) at $16. To contact the Box Office, call 415.404.4112.

In addition to the rodeo, visitors to the Cow Palace can also avail of the quintessential western experience from October 12th to October 20th, through events like a classic western BBQ, marketplace shopping, livestock exposition, horse shows, exclusive autograph signings, music, dancing, mechanical bull rides and more!

The World Famous Grand National BBQ is held in the South Hall on performance nights from 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM. Tickets for the BBQ can be purchased in Advance through Ticketmaster, at Cow Palace’s Box Office or in person at the BBQ.

 

Located on the Industry Hills Expo Center, this is to be the 33rd annual Industry Hills Charity Pro Rodeo. This family-friendly event is going to take place over the weekend of October 13th and 14th in the City Of Industry, and promises to be the biggest, grandest event of its like.

The Industry Hills Charity Pro Rodeo plans to celebrate its 33rd year with the largest rodeo experience officially PRCA sanctioned in Los Angeles. Visitors yearning for that country and western lifestyle will find everything they have been looking for in a rodeo and more! From Bull Riding, Bareback Riding, Saddle Bronc Riding and Barrel Racing to country music and food, it’s to be a good ol’ time for everyone involved.

These events raise funds for many local San Gabriel Valley Children, and draw professionals from all over the U.S. to participate in a wide range of horse-related shows.

Tickets for the event are on sale now. You can purchase the tickets at the www.industryexpocenter.com website, or go directly to industrycharityevents.ticketspice.com. The gates open at 4 pm on Saturday, October 13th, and at noon on Sunday, October 14th. Adult tickets are priced at $20.00, Senior Citizen (60+) tickets for $15.00, and Child (2 to 11 years) ticket for $10.00.

Last but not least, Bullfighters Only is rolling into town at the Industry Hills Expo Center on October 13-14th, 2018.

Including Bull Fighters, Kris Furr of Hamptonville, North Carolina, Cold Oder of Moorpark, California, and Alex McWilliams of Paso Robles, California.

#LAdoesRODEO #IndustryHillsCharityProRodeo

Don’t forget music by DJ Jake and Line Dance Instruction with Tina Michelle & the Rhinestone Cowgirls will be rocking the scene with “After Rodeo Dance” on Saturday October 13th, from 8pm to 1:00am. Dance is $10 a person at the door of The Pavilion at Industry Hills Expo Center.

The Professional Bull Riders circuit is making its way back to the Gem State on the 20th of October in 2018 for two days of action-packed rodeo excitement. Nampa PBR near Boise will be hosting this annual event which is part of the 25th Anniversary of PBR. There is not a lot of bull riding action that can compare to the Nampa Professional Bull Rider circuit leg which is also known as the Idaho PBR.

PBR’s Top 35 bull riders face off against the rankest bucking bulls in the business!

The Nampa PBR is one of the many events filled with pure professional bull riding action leading up to the fun in Las Vegas. The winner in Las Vegas will go home with the fabled Gold Buckle and the $1 million prize that goes along with it. The event is also being sponsored by Wrangler this time around. This year will also mark the seventh year in a row that the Nampa is a stop for the Unleash The Beast series.

The venue for this event will be the Ford Idaho Center. It makes for one of the best venues possible. Professional Bull Riders events are always best enjoyed when you see them straight from the stands and in the seats. You get to see and feel all the energy and excitement as the meanest bulls in the world take on some of the toughest cowboys from all over the US, Brazil and Mexico. The tickets will range in their prices from $15 to over $100 but you can avail a number of group discounts. The prices will obviously depend on the seats as well.

All the fans looking to have a meet and greet with the professional rodeo cowboys will have to purchase the VIP tickets. The will get to hit the dust and meet some of the very best in the sport. Other than that, they will be seated very close to the action and will be given the best refreshments alongside a look at what goes on behind the scenes of the action.

Minot Y’s Men’s PRCA Indoor Rodeo has been around for over half a century and will be marking its 64th year from October 4th to the 7th.  

The Super Bowl of rodeo for North and South Dakota, the Minot Y’s Men’s Rodeo will be hosting the Ram Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo. Visitors get to watch the 90 best cowboys and cowgirls in the region compete for the championship and a berth at the National Circuit Finals Rodeo.  

The event will also include the Miss North Dakota Rodeo pageant, a chili cook-off, mutton bustin’, as well as the Badlands Cowboy Christmas Expo and Trade Show. October 5th is Tough Enough to Wear Pink night, when cowboys, cowgirls, and rodeo personnel will wear pink to raise funds for local cancer patients.

Proceeds from the rodeo go to benefit the Triangle Y Camp on Lake Sakakawea. Before the rodeo events on October 7th, there will be the Miss Rodeo North Dakota coronation. There will be an awards presentation at the State Fair Centre after all the rodeo events.

Tickets for the event can be bought at the website www.minotysmensrodeo.com. Gold tickets are $33 for both adults and children, and silver seating is $23 for adults and $13 for children.

Children’s prices are for 12 and under; if a child sits on a lap, he or she does not need a ticket. Additionally, October 7 is Military Appreciation Day – all active and retired military, plus their immediate families, can purchase discounted tickets for the Oct. 7 performance.

Gold seating will be discounted to $23 for both adults and children, and silver seating will be discounted to $13 for adults, $8 for children.

2018 marks the 91st anniversary of the Austin County Fair, and it is bigger than ever. The Austin County Fair is expanding to a 10-day Fair with the BBQ Cook-off, 5K Stampede, Queens Contest, Bull Blowout and other activities starting things off the first weekend.  After that, it means to return to its traditional Fair schedule with livestock shows, PRCA rodeo, the carnival and Nashville entertainers.

The PRCA rodeo will continue for three nights: October 11, 12 & 13. The rodeo will begin at 7:30 pm sharp each day, and will showcase seven breathtaking events: bronc riding, bareback riding, barrel racing, steer dogging, team roping, calf roping and bull riding. These dangerous and exciting sports will spotlight cowboys and cowgirls competing to win incredible cash prizes.

Traditionally, Austin County Fair Rodeo has attracted contestants from all over the nation, so it’s not unusual to see world champion and circuit cowboys perform.  Austin County is rich in rodeo enthusiasm and boasts several PRCA qualifiers.

Wear Your Pink Wrangler Western Shirt to Support Breast Cancer Awareness!

Tickets can be bought at the https://tickets.austincountyfair.com website. You can purchase the Season Pass 2018, which will let you access the entire 10 day fair, or a day pass for an adult, senior citizen or child.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin is going to find itself hosting one of the final events of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuit in 2018. All the events which happen towards the end of the year leading up to the Grand Finale which will take place in Sin City. The World Finals for Las Vegas are going to be huge, as always but getting there is not an easy task.

The Professional Bull Riders circuit’s leg in Milwaukee will be one of the determining events for that. The Ariat Invitational event for the Professional Bull Riders organization in 2018 is going to be huge. One of the newer additions to the Professional Bull Riders circuit, this is anticipated to be one of the best events of the year. October 6th and 7th will be, as the millennials say, ‘LIT AF’.

History of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR)

The sports of rodeo and bull riding, along with many other related sporting events, are a part of a very rich culture. The Midwest has historically been the place where cowboys came into being. From being a part of the culture and tradition, the sport of rodeo has become an international phenomenon ever since organizations like PBR came into being.

Some 20 odd years ago, over 24 professional cowboys came together to form the Professional Bull Riders organization. They wanted to take the sport from being just a cultural thing into a proper sporting event. 20 years later, this event is seen as nothing short of what they envisioned. With over 100 million fans all over the world, this is a sport that people from every walk of life enjoys. The events hosted by the Professional Bull Riders circuit are all huge successes. The PBR also gives back to the society. With some of the most extensive charity work being done by the Professional Bull Riders organization and campaigns to raise awareness for breast cancer.

Ariat Invitational 2018

With no past winners for the event as of yet, the Ariat Invitational 2018 presents a new set of challenges and opportunities for those willing to claim it. It will be instrumental for the cowboys looking to make their way to the PBR World Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada. You can expect the tensions to run high in Milwaukee this October as some of the best in the competition take each other head-on.

Make sure that you get the tickets for the event as soon as possible because they will run out. The Fiserv Forum can seat a lot of people but the number of seats is still limited. If you and your family want to enjoy the event live, you would do yourselves a favor and hurry up when it comes to buying the tickets.

Media Coverage

The Professional Bull Riders events are all best enjoyed when you are sitting right in front of it as it unfolds. Of course, not everybody can make it to Milwaukee for the event but that does not mean you have to be deprived of the action. Follow the action on CBS Sports to watch the full event (check with your local TV provider). Cowboy Lifestyle Network. To follow the updates from the Arait Invitational 2018 online, follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoCLN/

Hat Shape?

A hat will tell you almost everything you need to know. If it’s shaped like a taco, he’s a special kind of boy, but probably not a cowboy. The shape of his hat will speak volumes! There’s a certain crease for a bronc rider or bull rider. Hat shapes vary from region to region. For instance, Montana has a style of it’s own, high in the crown and wide in the brim with a good bend. The Louisiana cowboy’s crown will be a little flatter with not much dip from front to back.

Hat Pins?

Does his hat look like a steamer trunk from a Humphrey Bogart movie? A hat pin from everywhere he’s been including truck stops? When he walks, does his hat jingle instead of his spurs? Nope. Fake cowboy.

Straw or Felt?

If he’s wearing a straw hat in the winter or a felt hat in the dead of summer, it’s a major fashion foul. Everybody knows that just isn’t done.

Spray Paint and Fuzzy Feathers?

Your new cowboy friend isn’t a cowboy, he’s a cowgirl. UNLESS he’s Tim McGraw. Then he’s Tim McGraw.

Boots?

Very shiny, not well worn, no marks on the heels from spurs or rub spots from spur straps over the front? Real pointy toes, unless he’s a Mexican cowboy, are a dead giveaway with most top hands preferring squared toes to not gouge the sides of green or broncy horses while mounting. Flat-footed soles are the mark of the modern day concrete cowboy, if truck drivers are your thing, strike up the conversation. Forgive the occasional athletic shoes, Hushpuppies, or even Crocs if that cowboy is Top Hand Cody DeMoss from Louisiana if he’s just driven in. NEVER forgive loafers. Metro-sexual cowboys don’t even go there.

Belt Buckle?

Shiny is as shiny does. No self-respecting REAL cowboy buys a buckle at a store. He’s won that baby somewhere down the road or watch him very closely.

Bull riding has been one of the most popular sports in the Midwest for as long as memory serves. For those who are really into the culture, both riders and for spectators, bull riding is a lot more than just a sport. It is a proper lifestyle. People actually live for bull riding and enjoy everything there is about bull riding from the top riders to the bulls that dump their riders within mere seconds. It is because of these supreme four legged mammals that this game has been thriving for hundreds of years. They bring the “life” in the lifestyle of bull riding. Here is a good look at some of the most dangerous bulls of rodeo history, celebrating the might of the fierce and supreme beasts that have embraced the ring and enthralled every man, woman and child over the years.

The #81 Dillinger

#81 Dillinger was a two time Professional Bull Riders World Champion bucking bull. Belonging to the Herrington Cattle Company, the Dillinger was not just a brutal beast, it was a proper force to be reckoned with, winning the Professional Bull Riders Champion Bull accolade in ’00 and ’01. Historically speaking, Dillinger is considered the most fearsome bull with his stats putting him on the top of the ProBullStats Hall of Fame. With an impressive buck off rate of 85.11 percent, he is rightfully considered one of the most dangerous bulls of rodeo history.

The #J31 Bodacious

During his time being active in the bull riding circuit, the #J31 Bodacious was considered the most dangerous bull alive and that rightly earns Bodacious his place in the lost of the most dangerous bulls of rodeo history. Not only was he considered the most dangerous bull, he is also regarded as the greatest ever bull which bucked. He was a Professional Bull Riders World Champion buck in ’94 and ’95 and he also won the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association’s Bucking Bull of the Year Award. He was the first ever bull to win both of these accolades with only one other bull having won them in 2017 called Bruiser.

The #856 Dippin Tahonta

A bull with an impressive resume, the #856 Dippin Tahonta graced the bull rodeo circuit in the 2000s and is the holder of consecutive Professional Bull Riders Champion Bull of the year in ’03 and ’04. His historical ranking places Dippin Tahonta at 4th all time and a remarkable 94.3 percent buck off rate. ProBullStats’ power rating for Dippin Tahonta was at 84.37 percent and he was a mighty beast. Giving no levee to any of the 12 right handers that took him on, he only ever lost once in his 58 bouts against some of the best bull rodeo riders around.

The #61 Little Yellow Jacket

The three time Professional Bull Riders World Champion Bull won the award 3 consecutive years in ’02, ’03 and ’04. In his prime, there was no rider that could bring him under control and no other bull that could have matched the tenacity and ferocity of Little Yellow Jacket. Unlike his name, Little Yellow Jacket was anything but little. One of the most feared bulls to have ever braced this profession, Little Yellow Jacket is considered to be one of the most dangerous bulls of rodeo history.

The state of Kansas saw families shift to a new place into the plains of the place which has now come to be known as Cherryvale in the late 1800s. These families had a religion which a lot of us don’t know about today but in that time it was a big thing. They were called Spiritualists. The people who were already living there were not very welcoming of the new religion as it was alien to them but they did not mind having new people coming into town and living with them. They never really asked a lot of questions when it came to new people come into town and they didn’t really make much of it when the Spiritualists came into Cherryvale.

The Benders

A couple of the families which moved to Cherryvale moved away very soon after that because they couldn’t adjust to the very harsh conditions of the town. Most of the other families that move to the town tended to keep very much to themselves and didn’t interact much with the locals who already lived there. The Benders was a family which was a whole different case.

They came off as a very normal family initially. The head of the family, John Bender, Sr. settled with his family near the Great Osage Trail that has since come to be known as the Santa Fe Trail. He laid a claim to a few acres of land in what’s now known as Labette County. Both Pa and Ma Bender spoke mostly in German but their kids spoke in fluent English.

The Great Osage Trail

The Great Osage Trail was a very common trail that travelers took and a lot of them would come by the place and spend the night with the Spiritualists because of their healing practices that they were known for. Now the trail was already a dangerous place, as a lot of places were in the Wild West with bandits and accidents, not to mention the Native Indians everyone had conflicts with but over the course of a few years an alarming number of people started to go missing if they passed through Labette County.

These occurrences were mostly unnoticed until Dr. William York, a prominent physician from Kansas went missing. His brothers were two powerful people and they were determined to find out what happened to him.

During an investigation, the Benders were asked about the missing people but the Benders claimed that they know nothing about the missing people. Around about that time, there was a meeting in the township where it was decided that everybody’s houses should be checked out to find signs of the missing people but before the search could begin the weather got bad and it had to be delayed.

The Benders’ Disappearance

Life went back to normal again after the weather turned to normal. One of the Benders’ neighbors noticed starving farm animals one day in the Benders’ property and decided to check out the situation. It turned out that the Benders had fled without any warning whatsoever. The search was going on at that time and when the volunteers came to the Benders’ property, they found nothing out of place inside the home – that was until someone opened a trapped door in the house.

The trapped door behind their private residence revealed something horrifying underneath. The cellar was drenched in blood and filled with the smell of rot but they found no indication of bodies anywhere. That was until they took note of the fact that the garden always looked like it was freshly plowed on the Benders’ property.

Upon further investigation, they started digging around in the garden and started uncovering body after body from the ground. The accounts vary about the number of bodies but it is reported that they murdered at least 21 people and buried them in their garden.

A nationwide investigation was started in search of the Benders to bring them to justice but from the point of the township meeting in the Harmony Grove to this day, nobody has been able to figure out what became of the Benders. They just vanished off the face of the earth.