•
9/2/10 -
Stony Creek, NY 9/4 - 9/5/10 co-approved, junior
and all women's events have been added to schedule. •
9/2/10 - All
American ProRodeo Finals performance
and entry info has been posted. Click
here. •
9/2/10 - Hope,
AR 9/30 -10/2/10 entry info has been updated. Click
here. •
9/2/10 - Rosenberg,
TX 10/1-10/2/10 entry info has been updated. Click
here. • 8/28/10
- King
City, CA 9/4- 9/5/10 has been cancelled.
• 8/27/10
- Brooksville,
FL 9/24 - 9/25/10has
been cancelled. •
8/25/10 -Location
Correction, Mt. Hope, AR 9/3 - 9/4/10 has been revised
to Mt. Hope, Alabama. •
8/25/10 -
Albuquerque, NM 9/16-9/25/2010 is now approved.
Click here
for details •
8/24/10 -
Ocala, FL 9/3-9/4/10 slack is Sept 2 at 4:00pm. •
8/11/10 -San Carlos, AZ 8/20 - 8/22/10 co-approved and
futurity events have been rescheduled to 9/10 -
9/12/10.
PJ
Burger • 12/12/09
There has been a lot to P.J. Burger's
first qualification to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
Besides the rugged 10 days of competition,
there are meetings and other commitments that take up
one's time. By the end, even the world champions are dead
tired and ready to head back to the house.
"The week's been really tiring,"
said Burger of Pauls Valley, Okla. "The more you
get into it, the more tired you get. You try to get caught
up on sleep, and you just can't get it.
"It took me about half the week
to get into a schedule. But it's hard. Things come up,
and you start to change it."
But like any cowgirl, Burger rolled
with the punches. She enjoyed visiting with fans at the
autograph signings. She took every opportunity to take
it all in with hopes that she returns multiple times,
just like her mother-in-law, 2006 world champion Mary
Burger.
"We were finally figuring our way
around town," she said Saturday afternoon, just in
time to leave. "I learned a lot while I was here.
It's all good if we make the trip again."
Though it may not happen quickly - P.J.
Burger plans to return home to begin making her own barrel
horse instead of riding someone else's - she knows that
rodeoing full time should mean regular trips to the biggest
event in the sport.
"Probably the biggest thing I learned
was patience," she said. You've really just got to
sit back, take a deep breath and let things happen. If
you get in a hurry out here, it ain't going to go right.
"I can't complain at all. It's
a blessing just to be here."
That's the humble P.J. Burger. The competitor
in her would've liked better than having one paycheck
in the first nine go-rounds, earning fifth-place money
in the fifth go-round.
"I'll go home, regroup and get
on my own horses again," she said. "I'll take
a little bit of time for myself, and then make another
one. It'll take some time for that to happen, but you
never know. Something may come up.
"I kind of want to get back into
roping again. If the barrel racing slowed down, I could
do that. I haven't had time to do it lately."
She'll take the time now.
Mary
Burger • 12/11/09
The electricity inside the Thomas &
Mack Center is tough to beat. But the arena on the University
of Nevada-Las Vegas campus holds less than 18,000.
Still, there are thousands and thousands
of rodeo fans in Sin City during the Wrangler National
Finals Rodeo. Everywhere you go, whether it's the Mandalay
Bay or the Golden Nugget, cowboy hats are prevalent in
early December.
Even for rodeo folks like the Burgers,
the site is amazing.
"Even if they can't get into the
rodeo, they go to the casinos or wherever they can to
watch it on TV," said Mary Burger of Pauls Valley,
Okla., the 2006 world champion. "It's just a huge
deal for Vegas. When we go out during the grand entry
and sit there, you just look up there in the arena and
there are no seats. It's just amazing to me. It's got
a buzz now."
The buzz continues all over Clark County
this time of year.
"We've been going to a lot of autograph
sessions," Burger said. "We went to the Excalibur
(Wednesday), and people were lined up outside the door.
I think we were supposed to be there for an hour, and
we were there for an hour and a half or more.
"It was just a huge deal, and the
people that stayed in line were thanking us for staying
longer. Those people really appreciated that."
So do the athletes.
Mary
Burger • 12/10/09
Her voice sounds like a three-pack-a-day
smoker. Her chest feels like it, too.
But the truth is, Mary Burger just has
a cold, but she's had it for a few days.
"I got one of those real raw throats,"
she said Thursday morning. "I just got so chilled.
We were out in the rain the other night ready to go inside.
All those grand-entry horses were outside, so we had to
get on wet saddles, got wet pants. I was just chilled
to the bone."
It's been one of those weeks for Burger,
the 2006 world champion who rode into the Wrangler National
Finals Rodeo in the No. 3 position. She's won just $15,895
over the first seven go-rounds and has dropped one spot
in the world standings.
She's seventh in the average after knocking
down a barrel in the sixth go-round. Then in the seventh,
she ran a blistering 13.88, which was good enough to tie
Sherry Cervi for third place in the round. It marked just
the second time that she's finished in the money.
"I was on top of the ground, so
I figured this would be my best opportunity to make a
good run," Burger said. "I thought Fred ran
really well. I was really pleased. And now there's three
more goes yet."
Horse of the year Rare Fred sat out
two go-rounds with what Burger believes is an abscess.
Her husband, Kerry, worked on the fine equine to get him
back in running condition.
"We worked on it real hard,"
Mary Burger said. "We got the pain out of it for
a couple of days. He was about 90 percent sound after
we worked on it."
Hmmm … 90 percent sound and running
a 13.88. No wonder Fred's the horse of 2009.
Jordan
Peterson•
12/9/09
It took six go-rounds, but second-generation
Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier Jordon Peterson
finally sprinted past the field of elite competitors on
Tuesday night.
Peterson, the daughter of four-time
world champion Kristie Peterson in her first Wrangler
NFR, rounded the pattern in 13.72 seconds, the third-fastest
run of this year's championship. But deep down, back in
the recesses of her memory bank, it really wasn't the
first time she's won a go-round on ProRodeo's biggest
stage.
"I'm just glad I did it on a real
horse instead of a stick horse," she told ESPN reporter
Jennifer Smith, reflecting on a childhood where she rode
so many runs inside the Thomas & Mack arena while
her month was winning gold buckles in the same arena.
On a night when bull rider Corey Navarre
won more than $55,000 for being the only cowboy to score
a qualifying eight-second ride, Peterson led the pack
of extremely fast barrel runs. In fact, neither Lisa Lockhart's
13.93 nor Brittany Pozzi's .95 placed in the go-round.
"I was real solid through the first
four rounds, and then last night I got a barrel,"
said Peterson, who is sixth in the average with 89.75
seconds with just four rounds left in the championship.
"So that took the pressure of the average off, and
tonight I just went for it all. It seems that I tend to
do my best when the pressure is off."
She also tends to be at her best when
everything's even, as in numbers. Peterson has placed
in three go-rounds - second, fourth and sixth - and has
won more than $25,000 in the process.
PJ
Burger • 12/8/09
There was a sense of relief in P.J.
Burger's voice Tuesday morning.
"It felt really good," said
Burger of Pauls Valley, Okla. "I finally broke the
ice."
That happened Monday night during the
fifth go-round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo at
the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Burger, in
her first qualification to play on ProRodeo's biggest
stage, placed for the first time all week, riding Cody
Lea Coaltown for a 13.98-second run, good enough for fifth
place and a $4,423 paycheck.
"I couldn't tell you why I went
back to LuLu," said Burger, who had ridden the mare
for the opening three performances before switching to
The Stonemaster on Sunday night. "I just felt like
it.
"It didn't matter what the other
girls did. I was just going to make my run, and whatever
happened happened."
What happened Monday night were the
fastest runs of the week. Sherry Cervi won with a 13.60,
followed by Lindsay Sears' 13.62, Brittany Pozzi's 13.83
and Shelley Morgan's 13.91. Only Sue Smith's sixth-place
14.06 was above the 14-second mark.
"All those fast runs were right
there eight in front of me," Burger said. "But
you still have to cowgirl up and make a run."
And what did Monday's round mean for
the remaining five nights?
"It does boost your confidence
level," she said. "I kind of think they'll just
get faster each night. It'll depend on whether they water
the ground, but it's a tough bunch of horses."
The two weeks in the Nevada desert have
been a coming out party for Burger, who is fairly reserved
and focused. But it's also a business trip, where the
contestants are chasing that $17,139 first-place round
payout for 10 straight nights.
"I have not had any time for fun,"
said Burger, who is spending the week with her husband,
Joey, and their daughter, Kaden, 3. "There's some
memorable stuff, like going to the sponsor booths and
spending time with them. I really enjoy signing the autographs
for the little kids and just talking to them.
"That's a pretty good memory to
take home."
So would winning several thousand more
dollars over the final five go-rounds.
PJ
Burger • 12/7/09
When you're 1,200 miles from home,
it's hard to find a routine.
When you're 1,200 miles from home
with your entire family for a couple of weeks, it's even
harder.
"After being here now for
four or five days, I'm finally getting into a groove of
things and more of a schedule," said P.J. Burger,
one of the top 15 barrel racers in 2009 who is competing
at her first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. "That's
helping, just getting a routine going and keeping it kind
of the same.
"The beginning of the week
was pretty overwhelming with everything that was going
on. Now it just feels like another rodeo, and you've got
to regroup and go again."
Like she has all season, Burger
is competing alongside her mother-in-law, 2006 world champion
Mary Burger. And while Mary placed in the third go-round,
P.J. has blanked through the opening four nights.
But that's rodeo, and that means
adjustments. For her sake, she's made the switch from
Cody Lea Coaltown "LuLu" to The Stonemaster
"Stoney." Other than that, she's still going
to chase the $17,139 first-place money that's available
every go-round.
"In picking Stoney, I just
went with a gut feeling and felt like I needed to switch,"
she said. "He worked really good.
"I'm not going to change
anything. I'm going to keep going with the same game plan.
Whatever happens happens. I can't really change anything
because the others are running fast."
She just hopes to run faster than
the others.
Mary
Burger • 12/6/09
Like all the other 118 contestants
in the field, the few days leading up to the Wrangler
National Finals Rodeo were a lot busy for Mary Burger.
Meetings.
Practices.
Pictures.
Now she's in the middle of the
competition, and she's much more comfortable there.
"It's really a relief to
get through those few days," said Burger, the 2006
world champion barrel racer. "I still have sponsors
I do autographs for, but I try to do most of that in the
morning or early afternoon and keep up with the things
I need to do and leave a little time to rest before the
performance."
It's a daily regiment, but who
wouldn't trade that for the sponsorship dollars?
On Saturday night, she finally
reached the pay window, placing fourth, good enough for
$7,188. So far, daughter-in-law P.J. Burger has yet to
cash in during the Wrangler NFR, but there are plenty
of go-rounds to go. Plus, there's such an honor in qualifying.
"It's really good that they're
here, because they're family," Mary said. "You
hope for the best and are just real proud that the spot
is filled with someone I know and is special to us."
Another here that's special is
Rare Fred, her two-time AQHA/WPRA Horse of the Year. He
struggled with some footing in the opening rounds, but
obviously that's turning around some, as evidenced by
her 14.02 on Saturday night.
"We need to hold the ground
a little better," she said. "He's been handling
things pretty well."
So is the world champion.
Mary
Burger • 12/5/09
Mary Burger went to the Mirage
on Friday night to retrieve the chip she received from
the casino as an incentive for Wrangler National Finals
Rodeo qualifiers to play at its tables.
She did pretty well, in fact,
parlaying it into a little extra cash. But, admittedly,
she's not much of a gambler.
"A friend of mine helped
me, and I won another $100," said Burger, the 2006
world champion from Pauls Valley, Okla.
So what was she playing?
"I believe they call it craps."
Yeah, she leaves the gambling
to her business as one of the elite barrel racers in ProRodeo.
"You get a free chip, and
we had some friends here, so we went and did that,"
Burger said. "At the motel and stuff, maybe I'll
spend $20 just piddling around.
"Now I just need to get it
in the arena."
A hundred bucks here, $40 there
might be fun, but the big money for Burger is inside the
Thomas & Mack Center where each round's winner earns
a check for $17,139. Through two go-rounds, Burger has
yet to earn a paycheck, but she was sixth in the average.
She knows clean runs can make a big difference because
the average winner will earn nearly $45,000.
"In the first round, I had
a pretty nice run, but got into trouble with a little
stumble," she said. "In the second, we slipped
on the first barrel, but they're all still standing. We'll
stay tight and do the best we can."
Still it's good to run barrels,
even with the glitz, glamour and pressure that come with
competing at the Wrangler NFR.
"It's pretty much the same
as I've seen the other times I've been here," she
said. "I just figured this would be the ultimate,
because all these horses here are tougher than I've ever
seen."
Jordan
Peterson•
12/4/09
At 7 a.m. Thursday, the Wrangler
National Finals Rodeo qualifiers were busy inside the
Thomas & Mack Center.
It was their practice time, and
they were getting in a good workout on a cool Las Vegas
morning. It was the last chance before the opening round
of ProRodeo's championship the girls would get to work
inside the arena. It was gritty, their boots scuffing
at the dirt to see how it would handle the pounding it
would take over 10 nights in Sin City.
Within a few hours, the grit was
replaced by glamour as the top 15 cleaned up and dressed
up WPRA's Star Celebration at the South Point Hotel and
Casino. It's all part of the Wrangler NFR experience.
It's also an adjustment for most of the five first-timers.
But that's not the case with Jordon
Peterson, who came to Las Vegas all those years when her
mom, Kristie Peterson, was winning gold buckles a decade
or so ago.
"I can't tell you how many
times my stick horse rode barrels here," a quipping
Jordon told emcee Joe Beaver during the awards show.
On Thursday night, Peterson and
her horse, Frenchman's Jester, circled the cloverleaf
pattern in 14.36, missing the money. What will happen
over the next nine go-rounds?
Whatever it is, it should be pretty
exciting to watch.
PJ
Burger • 12/3/09
From Main Street of Pauls Valley,
Okla., to The Strip in Las Vegas, it took Joey, P.J.
and Kaden Burger about 20 hours of driving and an overnight
stop. But they arrived Sunday afternoon in plenty of
time to take in all the pomp and circumstances of P.J.'s
first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
"We left home Saturday
and stopped somewhere in New Mexico and made it over
two days," P.J. said Wednesday evening. "The
trip itself was kind of long, but I was so excited to
get here that it didn't really take that long. It'll
be longer, I think, going home."
Even though her mother-in-law,
Mary, is returning to ProRodeo's grand finale, they
drove separate rigs to the Nevada desert.
"We each have three horses,
and we have different places we have to be at different
times," P.J. said. "It just works better this
way."
Since arriving, there's been
a lot of activity for the first-time qualifier and her
clan. On Monday, they checked out Sin City, got the
lay of the land and Las Vegas Boulevard and rode the
roller coaster at the New York New York Hotel and Casino.
It was a good day to relax and have some fun.
"Tuesday and Wednesday
have been nothing but go, go, go and run, run, run,"
she said. "You have to make sure you're on time
for the seminars and meetings and the grand-entry practice.
We'll practice barrels Thursday morning.
"After a couple of days
of doing all this other stuff, I'm ready … ready
to make a run and do what I like."
This
week, Sin City becomes its own version of a Western classic.
It's what happens when the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo
hits the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, playing
for 10 spectacular nights and showcasing the best of the
2009 ProRodeo season.
Starting Thursday with a preview of what is happening
with the top 15 barrel racers in the business, www.wpra.com
will bring you nightly updates on this blog from some
of the players themselves, P.J. and Mary Burger and Jordon
and Kristie Peterson. It will give you insights from first-timers
and world champions.
And it will be entertaining, just like the Wrangler NFR
itself.
So enjoy the blog. Enjoy the commentary from the best
in the game, on what happens in and out the arena during
the Wrangler NFR.
The Women’s Pro Rodeo Association | 431 South Cascade | Colorado Springs, CO 80903 | (719) 447-4627 | (719) 447-4631 (fax)
