Three local rodeo athletes, plus thirteen others in America, have qualified to compete in the first ever three day Elite Rodeo Athletes World Championships scheduled for Nov. 11-13.
Tye Pride, from Carthage, Texas, qualified for the championships in Tie-Down Roping. Ty Kirkland, from Lufkin, Texas, qualified in Saddle Bronc. Friday Wright, from Pollok, Texas, qualified in Bull Riding.
Friday, his wife Morgan, and their daughter Rylee moved to Pollok from Mississippi to be close to Stephen F. Austin State University and to own enough land to have horses and space. Friday is getting a degree in agricultural development with hopes of one day teaching agriculture.
Both Friday and Morgan Wright ride in rodeos; Morgan rides in barrel races. Friday has been professionally riding bulls since he was 18, ten years ago, but he has ridden since he was a child. He was out of commission for two years after an injury to the jaw and hip caused him to have to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Friday placed second in the Lufkin and Henderson rodeos of this year, but he said the ERA qualifying competition is what really brought him back from his time away from the game.
“To come back and get back into the level of the ERA is quite an accomplishment for me,” Friday said. “I really appreciate the ERA and what they are doing for the sport of rodeo. To be a part of the ERA movement is awesome to me.”
He said it is “pretty surreal” to be going to the ERA World Championship.
After competing every Saturday from July 2 to Oct. 1, these athletes faced off with their peers in the ERA Qualifiers, a bracket-style tournament. The top two athletes in each discipline qualified for the championship, and they will compete for their share of $1 million at the world championships.
“We’re very pleased with the outcome of the first [ERA] Qualifying Series,” said Bobby Mote, ERA President and ERA Premier Tour Athlete. “The rodeo world is filled with emerging talent deserving of an opportunity to test their skills alongside the sport’s best. We’re very excited that the series has given these athletes a chance to join us in Dallas in November.”
Tickets for the ERA World Championship on Nov. 11-13 start at $31 and can be purchased on www.ticketmaster.com, at (800)-745-3000, at the American Airlines Center Box Office, or at various Ticketmaster kiosks located inside Fiesta Foods, Macy’s, Walmart, and shops at Willow Bend Mall.
For more information, visit www.ERArodeo.com.
