Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

$10,500 Bounty Offers On Bull at Southwest Rodeo in Hope

The 1995 Dodge Truck Bull program will burst from the chutes at the annual Southwest Arkansas District Livestock Show and Rodeo in Hope, September 28-30.

And Dodge Truck is offering a $10,500 bonus that Sammy Andrews' bull, Dodge Intrepid (Bodacious) can't be ridden by any of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association bull riders enterd at Hope.

The Southwest Arkansas District Livestock Show and Rodeo is sponsored in part by Hope Auto Company, the local Dodge Truck dealer.

The challenge is part of an innovative program developed by Dodge Truck to enhance the Dodge Truck series, while encouraging PRCA stock contractors to pit their best bucking stock against the best cowboys on the road today.

As part of the Dodge Truck Rodeo Bull Challenge, each time Dodge Intrepid, or any of the 16 designated bulls nationwide go unridden, the bounty will increase $500. When the animal finally is successfully ridden, the contestant who stays aboard the full eight seconds will be awarded the Dodge Truck bounty, said Jack Lowry, executive director of Dodge Truck Rodeo.

For example, if no one rides Dodge Intrepid at Hope, the bounty will increase $500, and the next cowboy to draw him could be riding for $11,000 from Dodge Truck, Lowry explained.

"This has got to be the most innovative and unique rodeo promotion out there today," said Lowry. "As this develops and the bounty increases, more and more attention will be focused on the animal, the cowboys and the respective Dodge Truck Series Rodeo nationwide."

Dodge Intrepid this past year was named the 1995 Dodge Truck Bull of the Year, the PRCA's Bull of the Year and the NFR Bull of the Year.

"He's a twister," Andrews explained. "He likes to pull cowboys to the inside and then switch to throw them off balance."

Despite the characteristics, Andrews said Dodge Intrepid is difficult to figure out.

In fact only three bullriders out of 70 have ever made it to the whistle on the bull. The trio includes world champion, Tuff Hedeman, Leggs Stevnson and Terry Don West.

Dodge Intrepid is scheduled for at least one outing at Hope. The date for the Dodge Truck Bull Challenge has not been set. Who will ride the bovine will not be known until the PRCA computers draw the contestants name from the list of bullriders entered at the rodeo, Andrews said.

Besides the Dodge Truck Bulls Program, the Southwest Arkansas District Livestock Show and Rodeo is a featured Dodge Truck Series. This is the second year the rodeo has been involved with the Dodge Truck Series.

As a series rodeo, the winners in the six events earn points which are added to a contestant's running score. A first place finish in the bullriding for example, earns a cowboy 16 points.

At the end of the season, the points are added together and the contestant with the most points in an event is declared the Dodge Truck Series champion and is awarded the one-year use of a Dodge truck, Lowrey said.

The rodeo is also featuring the 1995 Dodge Truck Rodeo Series Sweepstakes. The winner of the local competition will be automatically entered into the national drawing for a chance to win a 1996 Dodge Ram 3500 Laramie SLT Cummins diesel club cab pickup, equipped with a Lance Squire slide-in camper, a three-horse FeatherLite aluminum trailer and a Ramsey Pro-9000 electric winch.

"Dodge Truck is proud to name the Southwest Arkansas District Livestock Show and Rodeo as a Dodge Truck Series," Lowrey said. "The commitment by Hope Auto to sponsor the rodeo is indicative of our local Dodge Truck dealers support for professional rodeos."

Dodge Truck is the official truck of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.