New Mexico Rodeo Association (NMRA) Archives

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New Mexico Rodeo Association (NMRA)

Phone: 505-366-4929
Email: rodeojudgenm@gmail.com

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Members

Meet the Member John Birkholz

story by Lindsay King If John Birkholz is driving by a rodeo, there is a good chance he won’t be able to pass up entering. He’s fresh out of college and eager to spur as many down as he can. Of course, just when John had the freedom from school he needed to hit the rodeo trail hard, the coronavirus shut everything down and there simply weren’t any rodeos to enter. Last December John graduated…

Meet the Member Chad Shaw

story by Lindsay King At 9 years old Chad Shaw found himself aboard an Appaloosa in the western pleasure arena. For the next three years Chad continued down the path that his grandpa Dave also chose. Eventually, he got bored and decided roping was more his speed. “Growing up in Pagosa Springs, my grandpa had more than 70 head of horses. I saw how much he was spending and decided to learn how to be…

Meet the Member Brandon Gipson

story by Lindsay King “When I was 7, my mom took me to a rodeo and put me on my first steer. The next year we came back to that same rodeo and I got on another one,” said Brandon Gipson from Los Lunas, New Mexico. That was back in 2005. At just 9 years old, Brandon starting getting serious about steer riding. “I started riding in the Bosque Farms Junior Rodeo series and that’s…

Meet the Member Bethany Ray

story by Lindsay King Blanco, New Mexico, native Bethany Ray has seen every aspect of the rodeo industry so far. Bethany was always at the arena long before the rodeo kicked off, behind the chutes unloading bulls with her dad, Richard Hodgson. “My dad took bulls over to a bull rider’s house in town and they bucked them out. It just took off from there,” said the mom of three boys who are slowly but…

Meet the Member Rob Frassanito

story by Lindsay King Born and raised by natives of New Jersey, Rob Frassanito didn’t have rodeo in his blood from day one. Despite this, the sport crept into his heart just the same. He said he is simply a product of his environment. “I was born and raised in New Mexico. My friends were into rodeo in high school, so I learned how to swing a rope,” said the Cave Creek, Arizona, resident. Attending…

Meet the Member David Wilson

story by Lindsay King “I just want to be a soldier for the Lord,” said David Wilson from Artesia, New Mexico. This ordained minister doesn’t give his sermons inside a building, his message of love and grace can be heard just about anywhere but inside a church. “It’s just something I felt like I needed to do. I lost a good friend of mine to suicide along with my father (BR Wilson), so I like…

Meet the Member Wes McConnel

story by Lindsay King Some might say Wes McConnel and his wife Kelly are the Lane and Kelly of modern-day rodeo. After growing up as acquaintances in Bloomfield, New Mexico, the couple hauled to a rodeo together as their first date after returning to their hometown. “We had known each other for a long time and my mom used to be a principal here. Kelly started teaching at the school, so my mom told me…

Meet the Member Tyler Montano

story by Lindsay King Tyler Montano is shooting for the stars, to land among the rodeo ones that is. This Gallup, New Mexico, troubadour has set his sights on breaching the top fifty PRCA ropers in the next five years so he can hit the bigger rodeos. For now, he spreads his time between Arizona, New Mexico and Stephenville, Texas. “I did junior rodeo for a while but then I quit. In seventh grade my…

Meet the Member Teresa Brevik

story by Lindsay King The smile in Teresa Brevik’s voice is just a small physical symbol of the pure joy she has found in life – both inside and out of the arena. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I was born and raised in rodeo,” said the New Mexico native from Farmington. “I entered my first rodeo when I was eight years old and I won the breakaway that night. I was hooked…

Meet the Member John Clymo

story by Lindsay King An astute pilot of more than just airplanes, John Clymo has lived all over the world in his 63 years. However, he’s finally back where he feels most at home: Edgewood, New Mexico. “One side of my family is from New Mexico and they are all mostly bronc riders. My uncle rode in the PRCA, he planted the seed. I was a terrible bronc rider though. My mom encouraged me to…

Meet the Member Erin Bales

story by Lindsay King Hailing from Sheridan, Wyoming, rodeo and the western way of life was in Erin Bales’ blood from day one. She grew up on the family ranch with her little brother, and their parents made sure they were in junior rodeo as soon as possible. “We moved to Texas when I was 8, but my parents still made sure my brother and I were always entered in playdays and junior rodeos,” said…

Meet the Member Lance Tolbert

story by Lindsay King For the last thirty years, steer wrestling has been an extension of the person that Lance Tolbert is and ever wanted to be. As he approaches half a century, his knees are protesting his passion. “I have avoided injury for most of my career until now. The hardest part of rodeo is staying healthy, but as I have gotten older it gets so much harder. Especially in the steer wrestling. Now…