Wes Bailey wins saddle bronc riding championship
Wes Bailey of Tampa has won the saddle bronc riding championship in the first championship rodeo series sponsored by Kansas Association of Rodeo Committees and Kansas Lottery.
Other categories were bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, tie-down roping, barrel racing, and bull riding.
Contestants were required to compete in four header division and four heeler division events to be eligible for the series awards.
The 32-year-old cowboy and each of the other winners will receive a $1,000 bonus and a Montana Silversmiths championship buckle at an awards ceremony in 2007.
Bailey grew up in the heart of the Flint Hills and has ridden horses all of his life. He began rodeoing in high school and participated in college rodeo at Fort Scott Community College and Southwestern Oklahoma State before joining the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit.
Bailey manages 4,000 acres of the former Rhodes Ranch at Durham and also has a cowherd.
The Abilene Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo, Kaw Valley Rodeo at Manhattan, Bennington PRCA Rodeo, and Strong City Flint Hills Rodeo make up the Kansas Association of Rodeo Committees.
They plan to increase the payout to include $500 for second-place finishers in future years.
