PCRA cowboy makes stop at Boys & Girls Club

By Daniel Clifton • Daily Tribune Staff

MARBLE FALLS - Professional rodeo cowboy Chris Harris climbs on the back of horses bred just to buck him off. He’s broken nearly every bone in his body and faced a few demons in his time.

But Harris, who is ranked 10th in bareback riding in the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association world standings and who has ridden some of the wildest horses on the circuit, faced an equally challenging task Thursday - speaking to a roomful of elementary-age students at the Boys & Girls Club of the Highland Lakes.

Though Harris makes his living riding bareback on the PRCA circuit, he looked right at home among the 40 kids gathered around him.

“I started rodeoing about the age of 9,” Harris told the club members. “Why do I do it? Because I love it. Just think about what you love most of all and that’s how I feel about rodeo.”

Harris is one of 268 professional riders competing in the Hill Country Stampede PRCA Rodeo today and Saturday at the Charlie Taylor Arena, located two miles south of Marble Falls on U.S. 281.

Harris stopped by the Boys & Girls Club, 1701 Broadway Street, to talk to the kids about his career and invite them to the rodeo. Harris earned his PRCA pro card in 1996 and has made four appearances in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. The WNFR is considered the Super Bowl of rodeos because the top competitors from around the world gather to sort out who is the best of the best.

Marble Falls has become a stop on the way to Las Vegas as well as two other championships with the Hill Country Stampede.

Stampede director Brandon Arrington said as a PRCA event the Marble Falls rodeo, combined with Dodge Circuit Series and Heartland ProRodeo Series, is drawing plenty of top names, including several multi-world champions and a WNFR qualifier in each event.

But a big factor in the appeal of the Hill Country Stampede is the stock contractor, Carr Pro Rodeo, Arrington said.

“Pete Carr knows how to produce a world class rodeo,” he said. “The competitors know it, so they go to his rodeos.”

It’s not just the stock Pete Carr is known for either, Arrington said.

“It’s a production for Pete,” he said. “It’s not just about the contestants. Pete puts on a rodeo for the crowd. He wants people at the edge of their seat the entire time. And when it’s done, he wants people to sit there and say, ‘Wow.’”

Harris is in Saturday’s performance trying to ride Cool Running and he’s also offered a unique incentive to help the Boys & Girls Club.

“I’m going to be riding for you guys as well,” Harris told the club members. “I’ve put out a challenge ride. So what will happen is at the end of each night, I’ll challenge the top bareback rider to another ride. And if I win, the club will get some money.”

If Harris wins the challenge ride, he said, the Boys & Girls Club will get $1,000. If the other rider wins, then that rider pockets an additional $1,000.

“So if you come out to the rodeo I hope you’ll be cheering for me because I’m riding for you,” Harris said to the kids.

They all cheered.

Tickets to the Hill Country Stampede performances are $10 for adults; $5 for children 6-12; and free for children under 6. The Saturday ticket includes a dance with the band People’s Choice after the rodeo. Slack competition for overflow speed events begin 10 a.m. Saturday. There is no charge for entry into slack.

daniel@thepicayune.com

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PCRA cowboy makes stop
at Boys & Girls Club