WINNEMUCCA, NEVADA – The Western States Ranch Rodeo Association will be holding its 2015 National Finals Rodeo Thursday, October 29 through Sunday November 1, 2015, in Winnemucca, Nevada.
This year marks the sixth anniversary of the WSRRA. The Association continues to experience rapid growth in the 11 states where it sanctions events, so this year there will be 45 open teams and 18 women’s teams in addition to the top 15 ranch bronc and women’s steer stoppers. For the second year, the National Finals of the Professional Wild Horse Racers Association will be held in conjunction with the WSRRA National Finals. The top six 3-man teams in the nation compete in six go rounds for the PWHRA world title. Rodeo clown, Tuffy Gessling, will return to bring laughs and smiles all four days as he did last year.
Enjoy the Buckaroo Christmas Gear and Trade Show, open every day Thursday through Sunday. This is a good time for Christmas shopping with quality craftsman and vendors. This year we will continue to feature a vendor Halloween “Trick-Or-Treat Street” for the kids. It was so popular the last two years we had to bring it back again!
A new event this year, the first annual Great Basin Gathering, a special music, poetry and gear trading show, will take place Saturday, Oct. 31 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the building next to the Event Center. Informal in nature, gear traders, cowboy poets, and cowboy musicians are invited to spend the day enjoying each others talents and trade bag treasures.
Also new this year will be performances by Master Charro-style roper, Ramon Becerra. His first experience was performing at Madison Square Garden and he has been performing ever since. After their tour of the U.S., Ramon moved to the United States and worked for world renowned Edith Evans at the Kingdom of the Dancing Stallions in Los Angeles, CA. He soon met John and Bo Derek. After a few years of persuasion, Ramon finally came to the Santa Ynez Valley to train horses for the Dereks. Almost 30 years since his move to Santa Ynez, Ramon is still performing for the camera and live shows all over the world; and still calls the Valley home.
Ramon is also well known for providing beautiful horses for print and film. His horses have been ridden and handled by many for various projects including: Kelly Le Brock, Daryl Hannah, Bo Derek, John Corbett, Shania Twain, Salma Hayek, Gisele Bundchen, Jack In The Box, just to name a few.
An overview of the event schedule:
THURSDAY:
8am: Women’s Rodeo long go slack.
6pm: Open Jackpot team roping, big loop roping, and women’s steer stopping.
FRIDAY:
7am: Open Team long go featuring working ranch horse, team roping and load & tie competitions.
6pm: PWHRA wild horse racing, ranch bronc riding, and special evening performances of the ranch rodeo.
SATURDAY:
7am: 1st and 2nd round of Women’s Steer Stopping followed by Open Team long go sort & rope doctoring and team branding.
After slack: Family Jackpot Branding. At the same time, stick horse races and dummy roping contests for the kids.
8am to 5pm: Great Basin Gathering Gear and Trade Show
6pm: PWHRA wild horse racing, ranch bronc riding, special evening performances of the ranch rodeo, Vendor Trick or Treat Street, and a Halloween costume contest for kids.
After the performance: Winners at Winners Award Party
SUNDAY:
8am. Cowboy Church with Bo and Cathy Lowe
9am: Finals Championship rounds followed by the WSRRA World Championship Award ceremony.
The WSRRA welcomes its returning National Sponsors for the 2015 Season: The WCVA Board, Ram Trucks, Boot Barn, Performix Nutrition, Les Schwab Tires, 8 Seconds Whisky, Gouveia Ranches, and the Working Ranch Magazine. Joining our sponsorship family this year is Twisted X Boots. Thanks to all of these businesses for their sponsorship of the WSRRA. We truly appreciate your continued support of the association!
Be sure and book your room early as the town fills up fast. The two official host hotels are the Winnemucca Inn and the Winners Inn and Casino.
