The Daily Oklahoman from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma • 27

RODEO BASEBALL ESSAY CONTEST 3-B SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2000 THE SUNDAY OKLAHOMAN 1 HIBDON Etbauer mare-raising experience TIRE CENTERS HOME OF THE FAMOUS FREE REPLACEMENT GUARANTEE ROBERT Etbauer stayed awake to all hours of the morning last Monday. The two-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world champion tied for the saddle bronc Bryan Painter riding win Sunday night during the Southwestern Livestock Show and Rodeo in Fort Worth. Was he celebrating the $8,392 haul? Absolutely not. The 38-year-old was headed to the winner of the round receives 12 points, second earns 11 points and so on. The top 10 contestants in the series standings in each event after the eighth rodeo qualify for the tour finale in June at Las Vegas.

Etbauer, who earned 12 points at Rapid City, had already claimed 9.5 points in Denver in January. He leads the series standings in saddle bronc riding with 21.5 points. Other leaders include: Mark Gomes, Nickerson, bareback riding; Steve Duhon, So-nora, Texas, and J.D. Crouse, Canon City, Colo, steer wrestling; Kevin Stewart, Glenrose, Texas, and Speed Williams, Jacksonville, team roping -heading; Martin Lucero, Ste-phenville, Texas, and Rich Skelton, Llano, Texas, team roping heeling; Justin Maass, Giddings, Texas, and Jeff Chapman, Athens, Texas, calf roping; Josh O'Byrne, Glenrose, Texas, bull riding; and Kristie Peterson, Elbert, barrel racing. Bryan Painter can be reached by e-mail at bpainteroklahoman.com.

bucking horse," Etbauer said. "If they don't buck, we break them to ride. We've broke several and sold them to ranchers." That's a short version of a long process, which includes bucking the colts at the Etbauer's bronc riding school once one year, twice the next year and so on. "We keep easing them into more trips and letting them get solid," Etbauer said. "We have some that really look good, but you don't know for some time." It seems like an investment worth losing sleep over.

More rodeo news Robert Etbauer's brother, Billy, had a great weekend. Billy, a three-time world champion from Edmond, won the final round in Rapid City, S.D., on Feb. 6 with an 83-point ride on Calgary Exhibition and Stampede's horse Papa Smurf. Rapid City is the second of eight Wrangler ProRodeo Tour stops. Contestants competing in the final round of each of those rodeos earn series points.

The know if I'm going to help any- thing, but I hope I do." The saddle bronc riding didn't begin until about 10 p.m. at Fort Worth. So it was 11 p.m. by the time Etbauer rode, got the chaps off, gathered the bronc saddle and climbed in the Dodge pickup. Along for the ride was Mike Tuhe, 18, of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

Tuhe lias been living with Etbauer to leam about saddle bronc riding. Etbauer and Tuhe arrived in Goodwell about 5 a.m., slept two hours and went to work. They gather the broodmares each morning to feed. Later in the day, they'll ride horses that are being trained as roping horses. After a 15-minute nap at lunch, they returned to the saddle.

Etbauer and Tuhe didn't make it back into the house until 10:30 p.m. What a way to celebrate a win 2 hours and 15 minutes rest in far more than 24 hours. But the challenge of the venture is enjoyable. "I like horses, and I like trying to see if they'll make a good RODEO 1 I i house to tend to an investment that's hopefully beneficial to the future of his family and the sport of rodeo. Etbauer's ranch near Good-well is home to about 100 broodmares, the core of the cowboy's bncking horse program.

"The demand for good bucking horses is a lot higher than the supply," he said. "I don't First 35,000 Miles Complete Free Replacement P21570R15 RedHawks ready for spring drills 1 I II UVUtJW Men's 100 Cotton 0 iBasrw- SAVE $10 on Bag Boy M-300 firms PULL CARTS $191? SUPER CONCORDE Fairway Woods 2 Comoare Entire Stock of $g(95 Windshirts Rainwear at $100 Double Strap STAND BAGS $RQ99 095 to '9 P18575R14 P19575R14 P20575R14 P21575R15 P22575R15 P235A75R15 GOLF US 122ND NORTH MAY, 755-0888 S.W. 74 PENN, 685-5577 HOURS: Monday Saturday 9 to 6, Sun. 12:30 to 5:30 PICK-UPS, VANS, SUV'S "i i 's1- iron7" ktc srr' By Bob Hersom Staff Writer It's time to use that favorite formal sentence of baseball fans, the one that begins: Pitchers and catchers report Saturday to the Texas Rangers' spring training camp in Port Charlotte, Fla. The rest of the Rangers report Feb.

23. The Rangers invited 53 players to Major League spring training. Several of those players will be with the Oklahoma RedHawks, who open the regular season April 6 at Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark. Some of the RedHawks won't report to spring training until March 9, when the Rangers' minor league camp opens. The RedHawks' 13-game exhibition schedule begins March 16, ending with a two-game exhibition series against Texas' Double-A Tulsa Drillers.

The RedHawks are tentatively scheduled to break camp on March 30. The RedHawks will face Boston's top farm club four times, The RedHawks' new manager, DeMarlo Hale, was with the Boston organization for 12 years. Oklahoma's manager the past five seasons, Greg Biagini, is the Red Sox' new roving minor league batting instructor. RedHawks Spring Schedule March 16 ot Boston (Fort Myers) March 18 Baltimore March 19 at Baltimore (Fort Lauderdale) March 20 Cincinnati March 21 at Minnesota (Fort Myers) March 22 at Boston (Fort Myers) March 23 Minnesota March 25 ot Plttsburoh (Bradenton) March 26 Boston March 27 Minnesota March 29 Boston April 1 Tulsa April 2 at Tulsa GENERAL WHITE LETTER First 30,000 Miles Complete Free Replacement P23575R15 All Season Radial 80,000 MILES 4fbr P18565R14 P18570R14 P20570R14 P21565R15 P20570R15 P21570R15 P22570R15 P15580R13 P18575R14 P19575R14 P20575R14 P21575R15 P22575R15 P23575R15 Essay contest deadline Friday Deadline for entering The Oklahoman sportsmanship essay contest is Friday. Contest winners will receive prizes and have their pictures and essays published in The Oklahoman on National Sportsmanship Day, March 7.

The contest is sponsored by The Oklahoman and the Institute for International Sport, Students are urged to address any aspect of ethics and sportsmanship in society or sharo a personal reflection of an experience with exemplary or poor sportsmanship. Essays will be 500 words or loss and will be judged in five categories: elementary school (grades 1-5), middle school (6-8), high school (9-12) and college university as woll as adults (23 and over). Students should include tho name, category, school, grade level, address and telephone number at the top of each entry and specify their submission is for The Oklahoman contest. Send entries to: Institute for International Sport, Univoraity of Rhode Island, P.O. Box 104, Kingston, RI 02881-0104, Oklahoman Essay Contest.

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