Fans Vote for Favorite Quarter Horses at NFR: Surprise Statistics Emerge

There are a lot of fans at the NFR! Image courtesy of EloisePlz

As the 50th annual Wrangler National Finals Rodeo came to a close in Las Vegas last week, rodeo fans awarded their favorite athletes with a little extra Christmas cash by voting them the Fort Dodge Champion American Quarter Horses of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

For the second year, the American Quarter Horse Association and corporate partner Fort Dodge Animal Health teamed up to give fans a unique opportunity to interact online and vote for their favorite American Quarter Horses and the cowboys and cowgirls who rode them at this year’s Wrangler NFR. Fort Dodge contributed $25,000 in prize money,awarding $2,500 to the horse owner and $2,500 to the competitor receiving the most online votes in each timed event.

Rodeo enthusiasts cast votes in steer wrestling, heading, heeling, tie-down roping and barrel racing. Only contestants riding registered American Quarter Horses and the owners of those horses were eligible to win the added money.

Normally, the AQHA would like me to publish the rest of their press release and list the winning horses and riders. But when I read the list, I was really surprised. There is more to this story than meets the eye.

Quarter horses are often criticized for being early bloomers in the show ring, reining and cutting arenas, and at the racetrack. The bigs-buck lure of futurities sends these horses into intense competition as three-year-olds. There seems to be a big gap between horses bred for competition and quick maturity vs. the built-to-last Quarter horses that are such an ideal horse for real-world pleasure riding and general use.

So the results of the NFR popularity contest are like a breath of fresh air: almost all the winners are mature horses, some well into their teens and one more than 20 years old, who are survivors and may even thrive on competing. I'm sure they have their share of injuries, probably have their joints injected, and you wouldn't want to look too closely at their foot x-rays. But they are still out there, and still carrying their riders to victory.

These horses are the best advertisement the AQHA could hope for...and they've been on ESPN's NFR television coverage for the past few weeks.

Here are the horses the fans rewarded as 2008 Fort Dodge Champion American Quarter Horses of the Wrangler NFR:

1. Steer Wrestling: RTR Little Willy, a 22-year-old brown American Quarter Horse gelding owned by Gregory Cassidy of Donalda, Alberta, Canada. RTR Little Willy carried three riders in each steer wrestling go-round.

2. Heading: Wranglers Lil Chism, 16-year-old sorrel American Quarter Horse gelding who competed in eight rounds of heading. He is owned by Garrett Tonozzi of Fruita, Colorado.

3. Heeling: Freckles Taz, a 10-year-old bay American Quarter Horse gelding who also went eight rounds with Kinney Harrell of San Angelo, Texas.

4. Tie-down roping: Hickoryote Sue, a 15-year-old bay American Quarter Horse mare, owned by Stran Smith of Childress, Texas.

5. Barrel Racing: The most popular barrel racing horse was also the youngest horse to win an award. Andele Cowboy, is owned and ridden by fan favorite Maegan Reichert of Mount Pleasant, Texas. He is a 9-year-old black American Quarter Horse gelding. With a 13.76 run, the team earned third place. They also won this award last year.

Cowboys in Vegas: WNFR Takes Over the Strip

NEWS FLASH: Check Equisearch.com's home page on December 16 for a postcard update from the NFR!

Got Copenhagen? The world’s largest (probably) rodeo opens today in Las Vegas!.

Consider these stats:

• 2007 marks the 23rd anniversary for Las Vegas as the host to the world’s richest and most prestigious rodeo.

• The prize money for the participants this year will be $5.5 million.

• In 2006, the event had a total event attendance of 175,649 over the 10 days of competition.

• In 2006, the Wrangler NFR had a total non-gaming economic impact of $52.8 million on Las Vegas and its environs.

• The Cowboy Christmas Gift Show, the only official gift show of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, features more than 400 vendors and runs from December 6 to 15 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The NFR goes on for 10 straight days, with a total of 120 contestants competing every night in seven events. Each December, the top 15 contestants, based on the Jack Daniel’s World Standings, in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, barrel racing, and bull riding qualify to compete at the Wrangler NFR.

This is probably the only horse-related event in the world where the sponsor list includes Hooters and Krispy-Kreme Doughnuts.

To learn more:
http://www.nfrexperience.com/
www.prorodeo.com

Rodeo is, as always, a controversial sport. Groups like SHARK and PETA's "Buck the Rodeo" campaign continue to rally against what they say is the cruel abuse and exploitation of animals for the benefit of entertainment and sport.

Amidst all the protests, rodeo seems to be growing in popularity as a spectator sport and is often broadcast nationally. It's a paradox that kinder, gentler natural horsemanship should be in vogue at the same time that rodeo goes to new levels with extreme camera angles and cheesecake Vegas glam to get its share of tv ratings and corporate sponsors.