RENO – The famed Reno Rodeo came to a close last Saturday and will kick-start the long 4th of July rodeo week known for the many lucrative rodeos. 

B.J. Campbell of Benton City, Wash., was named all-around cowboy after winning the steer wrestling and competing in team roping. Campbell won $14,142.

“It was a pretty good week. My first steer was probably the best steer in there,” he said.  “I didn’t even know I was winning the go-round. I just made my run.”

Each event champion is presented with a pair of the Reno Trophy spurs.

“Yeah, they let me take home two pair this year,”  Campbell said.

Kaycee Feild, the son of Hall of Famer Lewis Feild, won the bareback riding with a three-round total 252 points to win $10,628.

Feild says that he has had a lot of success at Reno in his short career.

“Every year that I go to Reno, I always do well,” he said. “It starts my Fourth off with a positive attitude and everything seems to keep flowing for me.”

J.W. Harris out of May, Texas, was the big-money winner, cashing in for more than $17,000 after winning the bull riding.

Lindsey Sears of Nanton, Alberta, took the barrel racing title at Reno, but it wasn’t under normal circumstances. 

She won both preliminary rounds at Reno on her famed horse Martha before jetting off to a rodeo in Canada on her back-up horse. While competing at Williams Lake, British Columbia, Sears caught a leg on the arena gate, breaking her fibula. 

Sears returned to Reno on crutches, but was able to team with Martha to claim the title.

Other Reno champions this year were Travis Tryan, of Billings, Mont., and Michael Jones (team roping), Stephenville, Texas; Landon McClaugherty (calf roping), Tilden, Texas; and Dusty Hausauer (saddle bronc riding), Dickinson, N.D.

With Reno over, the annual Cowboy Christmas run is in full swing this week with 30 rodeos scheduled through July 5 offering prize money of more than $3 million. 

With that many rodeos on the schedule and only one week to get to them all, the contestants get creative on setting their schedule.

“It’s crazy. I didn’t think I was going to be able to get to most of the rodeos,” Feild said.  “A family member of mine, Rhen Richard, is a team roper and he’s up at four of the same rodeos that I am and he’s got a plane we can use. It’s going to turn out really well.”

Feild said flying in between the rodeos will do more than just save time.

“You get a lot more rest and your body is just a lot more energetic for all of the rodeos,” he said.

Trevor Brazile, the sport’s six-time world all-around champion from Decatur, Texas, is no stranger to entering rodeos over the long 4th of July week.

Brazile said you have to put a number of scenarios in place when entering this week.

“You have to have backup plans to your backup plans,” he said.

Ty Murray holds the record for the most money won during this week at $37,630 in 1999.  Murray had the use of a small jet that year, which enabled him to travel to nearly a dozen rodeos.

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Butch Thurman has covered professional rodeo for 29 years. His e-mail address is butch@rodeosportsupdate.com