The Life Of A Rodeo Wife Genevieve Judge on 03/27/2008 at 5:01pm (UTC)   The Life Of A Rodeo Wife There is just one more day of the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Pocatello and there has been a lot of work behind the scenes that you may not know about. Ali Shiozawa has been married to her husband and cowboy, Matt, for a year now. They met during a rodeo several years ago and ever since then, Ali says she knew what she was getting into. "We get to spend every minute of every day pretty much together in this closed, confined truck so we've really gotten to get to know each other really well and we have so much fun but there is so much hard work that goes with it." says Ali . All that hard work Ali is talking about isn't what you see out in the arena but behind the scenes. "It is all what its cracked up to be but there is so much hard work and all the behind the scenes, the hours and hours of driving, the hours that Matt puts in on his horses, the hours I put in untying his calves." says Shiozawa. Ali and Matt are both from Idaho. Matt is from Chubbuck while Ali is from Twin Falls. They say they're excited to be back where both their families can watch the rodeo because before coming back to Idaho, they had been on the road for the last two months. But Ali says its all in a days work. "For him to be a professional athlete, he needs to be at tip-top condition so I don't mind getting up and feeding, warming up his horses. I don't have a problem doing that at all. Matt's living his dream and I'm living it with him and its so much fun." says Shiozawa. Ali and Matt say after finishing here in Pocatello, they'll head to Nevada next week. Ali says this is the first time her husband Matt has qualified in Pocatello, so they are really excited they could come back before a hometown crowd.   Daily Record Assistant Business Editor BEN MOOK on 03/05/2008 at 1:04am (UTC)   Bull riding draws nearly 16,000 to Arena March 3, 2008 6:40 PM Nearly 16,000 people packed 1st Mariner Arena over the weekend to watch professional cowboys do their best to stay on top of 1,500-pound bulls with names like “Vampire,” “High Test” and “Booger Butt” doing their best to dislodge them. Three million pounds of dirt, spread 18 inches thick, was trucked in to transform the downtown facility into a bull-riding arena for the 10th stop of the Built Ford Tough Series, the Professional Bull Riders Inc.’s premier event. According to the league, an estimated 15,800 tickets were sold for the two-night event, with prices ranging from $20 to $100 for “in the dirt” seats. “We were very pleased with the event,” PBR spokeswoman Denise Abbott said. “It might have even been one of the best events we’ve had in awhile.” The PBR 2008 Baltimore Invitational marked the first time in five years the league has held an event in Baltimore. Randy Bernard, CEO of Pueblo, Colo.-based PBR, said the gate for the event was close to $395,000 for the weekend. While the event cost upwards of $500,000 to produce, broadcast rights, merchandise sales and sponsorships brought revenue for the event in line with expectations. “We had figured $400,000 for the event, so it’s almost exactly what we had budgeted for it,” Bernard said. Bernard said the warm reception by the fans and strong ticket and merchandise sales meant it was likely Baltimore and the 1st Mariner Arena would again host a PBR event. “It’s definitely going to on the list of places we look at for next year,” Bernard said. “I would like to come back to Baltimore every other year, at the least.” Jamie Curtis, director of marketing at the 1st Mariner Arena, said they were pleased with the turnout. She said the bull-riding competition complemented the arena’s other offerings that include big-name musical acts, professional soccer and minor league football. “We thought it added another dimension to what we bring to the arena,” she said The Saturday and Sunday shows were carried on Versus, the Comcast Corp.-owned cable network formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network. The Built Ford Tough Series has large corporate sponsors, including Ford, Wrangler Jeans, Cabela’s Inc., Copenhagen smokeless tobacco, Enterprise-Rent-A-Car and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The weekend’s winning rider was Brazilian Robson Palermo, who earned $52,025. The total purse for the Baltimore Invitational was $130,000, including a $1,250 payout for the top bull of the event, “Chicken on a Chain,” whose owners include stand-up comic Larry the Cable Guy. The Built Ford Tough Series has 31 events leading up to the world finals, which are held in Las Vegas. For two-day events like the Baltimore Invitational, contestants each ride one bull per night for points. The bulls themselves are also scored for how fast they can buck riders before reaching the eight-second mark. PBR was started in 1992 in an effort to separate bull riding from traditional rodeos and make it a standalone sport. New York-based private equity firm Spire Capital Partners L.P. is a majority investor in the league. PBR has an estimated 800 riders coming from U.S., Canada, Brazil, and Australia.   Pro bull riders visit children's hospital By: Bob Costner on 02/17/2008 at 3:05am (UTC)   WINSTON-SALEM -- It was gloomy Friday morning outside Brenner Children's Hospital, but it was cheery inside, thanks to a visit from some professional bull riders. "It's fun,” said 14-year-old patient Rashawn Blue of the visit. "It's better than sitting on the floor everyday just being bored." The riders spent some time hanging out the morning before their competition started at the Winston-Salem Coliseum. Hayley Whitten's having some follow-up testing done after a kidney transplant. "It's pretty cool," she said, "I mean I watch bull riding all the time." These guys say it's a way to cheer up some kids who won't be able to come to the show and bring of little bit of the show to them. "I think sometimes when you can give back or help," said former World Bull Riding Champion Jerome Davis, "it makes a big difference in your own life. It makes me feel better." The riders signed autographs and posed for photos -- handed out some stuffed bull toys and talked about their sport. So they signed autographs and posed for photos -- handed out some stuffed bull toys and talked about their sport. They can relate to being laid up. "These kids, a lot of times the don't get to get out of the hospital," said rider Mike Lee, "I know how that feels, I've been there a few times, when I didn't get to get out of my room." Davis knows the feeling. The former world champion rider lives in Randolph County and is hosting the event. He's been in a wheelchair since being thrown by a bull in 1998. "These guys are the real heroes here today," said Davis, "they're fighting every day for their lives. We're just a little part of it." Bull riding's a big sport -- an estimated 1.5 million people attend events each year.   <-Back  1  Continue->