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Globe Life Field Becomes New Home for The American Rodeo

Teton Ridge’s 2023 The American Rodeo Celebrates 10th Anniversary March 8-11 with marquee events, star-studded music and Western culture celebrations

ARLINGTON, Texas (August 30, 2022) – Today, Teton Ridge, a wholly American-owned brand and media company devoted to elevating the iconic American western way of life and western sports, is proud to announce that The American Rodeo will make Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas its new home on March 8-11, 2023.

At Globe Life Field, rodeo fans and athletes will be immersed in arena-wide action and can enjoy a multitude of entertainment offerings. Events will include The American Contender Tournament Finals, Contender Tournament Wild Card, The American Performance Horseman, star-studded music, a western festival experience and more. For competitors, Globe Life Field provides them with an unprecedented platform to showcase 8 rodeo disciplines, including bareback, saddle bronc, barrel racing, breakaway roping, tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling and bull riding. The American Rodeo will debut a competitive exhibition – The American Performance Horseman – on Friday, March 10, 2023, at Globe Life Field to execute an additional three western equine sport disciplines: reining, cow horse and cutting.

“This move to Globe Life Field is focused on providing fans and athletes a genuinely immersive, never-been-done western sports and culture celebration at one, world-class location,” said Joe Loverro, President of Teton Ridge Sports. “Since acquiring The American Rodeo last year, our ambition at Teton Ridge has been to elevate western sports to a national stage and build out this iconic event to live up to its namesake as The Crown Jewel of Rodeo. We are thrilled to work with our incredible partners at the City of Arlington, the Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Globe Life Field as we celebrate the event’s 10th anniversary.”

The American Rodeo is a true open competition format bringing together top professional rodeo champions and every day, hardworking cowboys and cowgirls from across the country. With more opportunities to win money throughout the series, top competitors will make it to three Regional Finals events in February 2023 in Heber, Utah; Tulsa, Okla. and Lexington, KY. The top qualifiers from each region will make it to The American Rodeo, a high-stakes showdown with a $1 million bonus that will crown the finest talent the western sports world has to offer.

Globe Life Field, a world-class multipurpose sports and entertainment venue, was built as a public-private partnership between the City of Arlington and the Texas Rangers, who made the venue their home stadium in 2020. Measuring at 1.8 million square feet with a 5.5-acre retractable roof, Globe Life Field hosts numerous large-scale national and regional sports and entertainment events throughout the year. It has the distinctive capabilities to allow for The Crown Jewel of Rodeo™ to have a single, landmark destination over a days-long celebration of Western sports and culture.

“Globe Life Field was designed to host major groundbreaking events, and The American Rodeo encompasses exactly that. Not only does Teton Ridge produce world-class events showcasing the western lifestyle, they are also dedicated to bringing another level of entertainment to the rodeo,” said Sean Decker, President of REV Entertainment. “Our goal is to fill the calendar with thrilling events that bring new fans to Globe Life Field, and this event will not only bring rodeo enthusiasts to the area but also entertainment seekers as well. I am eager to see this facility transformed into a rodeo arena once again and am honored to host the Teton Ridge team in bringing this event to Globe Life Field in 2023.’

“Rodeo fans who’ll be visiting Arlington from across the nation to cheer on professional cowboys and cowgirls in this high-stakes showdown are in for a truly fantastic experience at our world-class Globe Life Field. We are delighted that Teton Ridge has chosen to keep The American Rodeo in the city of Arlington, The American Dream City,” said Arlington Mayor Jim Ross.

Ticketing information, headlining musical talent and on-sale will be announced in fall of 2022. For more information on The American Rodeo, visit www.americanrodeo.com.

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The American Rodeo Media Contact:

Mandi McCary / mandi@mmgnv.com  / 702-277-7107

Globe Life Field/REV Entertainment Media Contact:

Madison SanFilippo / msanfilippo@reventertainment.com  / 817-533-1838

About The American Rodeo:
Hailed as The Crown Jewel of Rodeo™, The American Rodeo is an unrivaled celebration of the pioneering spirit of the American West. The national sporting event offers fans a unique choice – to cheer on Western sports’ finest, champion athletes, or root for the underdog “Contenders” chasing a $1 million bonus – through every rodeo, roping and riding effort. For the first time ever, a new competitive exhibition called The American Performance Horseman brings together the Western equine sports disciplines of reining, reined cow and cutting for a $1 million prize. All combined with star-studded music, a Western festival and more. Acquired by Teton Ridge in 2021, The American Rodeo is an annual Western sports and entertainment celebration that matches professional rodeo’s top athletes against the world’s most aspirational cowboys and cowgirls, who have put up their own money to bet on themselves in this high stake’s showdown. For more information on The American Rodeo, please visit americanrodeo.com or @TheAmerican.TR on Instagram @TheAmericanTR on Facebook and Twitter.

About Teton Ridge:
Teton Ridge is a multi-platform, wholly American-owned brand and media company devoted to the iconic American Western way of life and Western sports. Teton Ridge’s Sports division was created with the singular focus of elevating classic Western sports and America’s Western culture on the world stage, while broadening audiences around the globe as well as at home. In 2021, Teton Ridge acquired The American, the iconic event of the rodeo circuit, to continue to expand the audiences for rodeo sports and make it the world’s premier Western culture event. For more information about Teton Ridge, please visit tetonridge.com or @tetonridge on Instagram @tetonridgeusa on Facebook.

The National Reining Horse Association is not responsible for the information contained in this press release. Please contact the author or submitting organization for further information, requests, or questions.

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NRHA Community Mourns the Loss of Hall of Famer Ronnie Sharpe

The reining community mourns the loss of one of its memorable members. A National Reining Horse Association Hall of Fame inductee, competitor, breeder, and judge, Ronald Sharpe’s impact on the industry was immense. He was one of the first accredited NRHA Judges when the Association was born. He is noted for judging in five of the world’s seven continents for five different associations including NRHA, for which he served in various capacities for over 45 years. He was also the longest-standing chairman of the American Quarter Horse Association Judges Committee.

As a horseman, he was one of the few to have made the futurity finals in both the NRHA and the National Cutting Horse Association. As a breeder, he was and is the leading producer of AQHA champions.

A former Marine, he had a passion for his country, horses, and his family. In fact, he was quoted for saying, “A loving wife, family, and some good horses is all a man can ask for.” Sharpe passed away at 84 years old in his home surrounded by the family that he loved on Saturday, September 3, 2022.

A memorial service will be held at Riley Funeral Home in Hamilton, Texas, on Saturday, September 10, 2022. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Star Volunteer Fire Department.

You can find his official obituary here.

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Cowboy Conversations comes to Cowtown

Mark your calendars!  Wednesday, September 21, Cowboy Conversations brings two of the most knowledgeable and colorful cowboys/cattlemen to the stage at Billy Bob’s Texas.  Pete Bonds and Bob Loomis will share stories that will make you smile and maybe even squirm.  Event co-chairs Lori McCarty and Sally Brumbaugh promise a unique entertaining and educational evening that will raise funds for Friends of the Fort Worth Herd.

Pete Bonds, cattle rancher and former Texas Southwestern Cattle Raisers Assn president, owns and leases acreage in more than two dozen counties in Texas as well as in seven other states.  Bonds Ranches runs cattle from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.  Bonds has received the Foy Proctor Memorial Cowman’s Award of Honor  and the W.A. “Bill” King Award for Excellence in Agriculture from the Fort Worth Farm and Ranch Club. He was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2017.

Bob Loomis is an icon in the equine industry, a universally recognized master in the world of precision riding and also a who’s who in the Texas Longhorn Breed.  The former president of the National Reining Horse Association, Bob has won six NRHA Open Futurity championships, more than any other trainer.  He was inducted into the NRHA Hall of Fame in 1992 and the American Quarter Horse Association Hall of Fame in 2012.

Bob lives on his Loomis Ranch at Marietta, Oklahoma, where he raises horses and Texas Longhorn cattle.  His Longhorns have swept Ultimate Awards.  He and his wife breed Texas Longhorns for conformation, horn length, color and disposition.

Emcee Tom Johnson Operates 87 Ranch and Johnson Cattle Marketing and will lead Pete Bonds and Bob Loomis through spirited Cowboy Conversations.

Friends of the Fort Worth Herd provides financial and volunteer support for the Fort Worth Herd Twice Daily Cattle Drive.  The Old West comes alive every day at 11:30 and 4 PM as real Texas drovers (cowhands) drive a herd of Texas Longhorns down East Exchange Avenue in the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District.  The Fort Worth Herd attracts thousands of visitors each day and is a major driver of tourism in Fort Worth and North Texas.

What:  Cowboy Conversations

When:  Wednesday, September 21 – 6 pm

Where:  Billy Bob’s Texas

For more information, sponsorship opportunities, and to make reservations, visit CowboyConversations.com

The National Reining Horse Association is not responsible for the information contained in this press release. Please contact the author or submitting organization for further information, requests, or questions.

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Judges and Stewards Selected for 2022 NRHA Futurity

The 2022 National Reining Horse Association Futurity, set for November 24 through December 3, is the premier reining event in the world. Fans travel to Oklahoma City from around the globe to watch NRHA’s top trainers and riders make the big stage debut for elite 3-year-old reining horses.

The landmark event will pay $350,000 to the Level 4 Open Champion and $75,000 to the Level 4 Non Pro Champion, and will also determine the Adequan® North American Affiliate Championships. Not surprisingly, being chosen to score the performances of the exhibitors as a judge is both an honor and a serious responsibility.

The individuals chosen to officiate at the NRHA Futurity this year blend veteran experience with freshman enthusiasm. For the Open Futurity in the Jim Norick Arena, the team includes Sandy Jirkovsky from Mississippi, Van Luse of Texas, Italian Manuela Maiocchi, Kim Myers of Pennsylvania, and Mark Turner from Indiana.

Evaluating performance for the Non Pro Futurity will be Buddy Fisher from Pennsylvania, Oklahoman Don Flohr, Margaret Fuchs of Ohio, Hiram Resende Silva Filho from Goias, Brazil, and Pat Wickenheiser from California.

Jan Dublin of Texas, Linda Hitt from Colorado, and New Yorker Kelly Hedges are the judges chosen for the NAAC classes in the Adequan® Arena.

Ed Cridge and Jeff Buckley, both from Texas, will serve as Equipment Judges in the Jim Norick Arena and the Adequan® Arena, respectively. Monitors for the event will be Eugenio Latorre of Spain and Doug Allen of Arizona.

The group includes four first time Futurity judges, including Maiocchi, Dublin, Hedges and Buckley.

The Futurity Show Steward team is headed by Ed Bricker. He will be joined by Lyle Jackson, Alessandro Dezzutto, Walt Larson and Marlin Holroyd.

“The Judges and Stewards committees take the task of Futurity Judge, Monitor and Steward selection very seriously. These are key positions that move the reining industry forward and set the standard for future competition. We are proud of this year’s lineup of officials and look forward to an exciting event,” said Patti Carter, NRHA Senior Director of Education & Officials.