American Pro Rodeo Association (APRA) Archives

Associations

American Pro Rodeo Association (APRA)

Phone: (610) 413-5010
Fax: (610) 869-4218

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 362, Cochranville, PA 193330

Email: renee.kenny@aprarodeo.com

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Members

Meet the Member Jesse Markel

story by Ruth Nicolaus Jesse Markel knew at a young age what he wanted to do for a living, and he proved it to his mom. School really wasn’t a good fit for the Dover, Pennsylvania bullfighter, and in ninth grade, he dropped out. His school offered the chance to go to an alternative school setting, what the students called “Bonanza High School”, because it was located in the mall by a restaurant with the…

Meet the Member Dustin Tobin

story by Ruth Nicolaus Dustin Tobin loves to ride bulls. The American Professional Rodeo Association cowboy was born and raised in Pawlet, Vermont but spent some of his middle and high school years in Florida. In Florida, he was introduced to bull riding by a friend whose dad was a stock contractor and rodeo producer. He began riding, mostly at jackpots and open events. In his later high school years, he moved back to Vermont,…

Meet the Member Toni Forrer

story by Ruth Nicolaus Rodeo has been part of Toni Forrer’s life since she was a little girl. The daughter of Don and Arloa Coffell, who both rodeoed, Toni still competes in the barrel racing, breakaway roping, and times rodeos, as a member of the American Pro Rodeo Association. While living in Arizona, Michigan, and Ohio as a youngster, the cowgirl competed in a few junior rodeos and in high school rodeo in Indiana, as…

Meet the Member JC Fisher

story by Ruth Nicolaus JC Fisher is continuing the legacy started by his grandpa, “Pap” Jim Fisher, and his dad, Jamie Fisher. Pap rode and broke a lot of horses in his time in central Pennsylvania, and has taught his grand-son, JC, a member of the American Pro Rodeo Association, a lot about horsemanship. JC, a tie-down roper, is the 2019 Rookie of the Year in his event in the APRA. He started youth rodeos…

Meet the Member Summer Konopinski

story by Michele Toberer Seventeen-year-old, Summer Konopinski hails from Sweet Valley, Pennsylvania and fully enjoyed her first season with the American Professional Rodeo Association last year. Mainly competing in barrel racing, and occasionally breakaway roping, Summer appreciated the opportunity to compete in so many great arenas in a professional rodeo association, against competitors of all ages. “All the girls are friendly and nice, and none of them treated me different because I was younger. If…

Meet the Member Janet Kerr

story by Michele Toberer With a wanderlust soul, having already traveled to 47 of the 50 United States, Janet Kerr hopes to step foot on all seven continents before all is said and done. She’s well on her way and only lacks checking off Antarctica, South America, and Asia from her bucket list. “We had a trip planned to Poland, Czech Republic, and the Netherlands in May, but had to cancel plans because of the…

Meet the Member Dave “Showtime” Meyer

story by Michele Toberer The show must go on and Dave “Showtime” Meyer is anxious to get back in front of his audiences as the American Professional Rodeo Association events resume, following the hiatus the rodeo world has been on due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Dave’s start with rodeo came back in Annville, Pennsylvania at the Shale Knoll Arena where Redeye Rodeo Company held weekly bull riding jackpots. “I grew up a few miles from…

Meet the Member Jason Wilson

story by Michele Toberer Although football was a big part of 15-year-old Jason Wilson’s life for the past 8 years, when he bought his first American Professional Rodeo Association card last year, he chose to begin focusing his energies solely on bareback riding. Following in the footsteps of his father, Jeremy Wilson, who rode bareback horses for over 20 years, Jason had plenty of experience in the sport of rodeo and started riding steers when…

Meet the Member Jaycee Leinaweaver

story by Michele Toberer Jaycee Leinaweaver has a few tricks up her sleeve when it comes to rodeo. The announcer’s love gaining the astonishment of rodeo spectators who are pretty surprised to see the 9-year-old 4th grader not only competing at the American Professional Rodeo Association events alongside grown barrel racers.; but their surprise turns to awe when they see Jaycee racing around the arena displaying electrifying stunts as an APRA trick rider. “I’ve been…

Meet the Member Sierra Ellsworth

story by Michele Toberer Cowboys from New York City? You bet! Well, maybe not New York City, but Sierra Ellsworth and family have made quite a mark in the rodeo world and are constantly explaining that although it’s not a huge scene, rodeo does exist in New York. Sierra is 18, and the youngest of Wayde and Stacy Ellsworth’s children. Stacy barrel raced and roped calves, and Wayde was a successful competitor in every timed…

Meet the Member Pond Hill Pro Rodeo

story by Michele Toberer “It’s a family thing,” at the Pond Hill Ranch in Castleton, Vermont, where for the past 50 years the O’Rourke family has been producing rodeos to entertain crowds from all across the country. In 1970, Josephine and Harry O’Rourke Jr. began the family’s legacy in the very location it sits today. Now the second and third generation of O’Rourkes hold 10 Pond Hill Pro Rodeos each summer, sanctioned with the American…

Meet the Member Anna Poorbaugh

story by Michele Toberer American Professional Rodeo Association cowgirl, Anna Poorbaugh, hails from Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, and recently won the 2019 Champion Rookie Breakaway Roper of the Year title. Although she competed in several APRA rodeos as a local during the past couple of years, 2019 was the first year buying a membership with the association, and she is grateful for the great season she had. Nineteen-year-old Anna has grown up in the western part…