Cowboy Goes By The Book Family Ties Allow Rosenberg To Keep Tabs On Best Steers In Rodeo Business

The familial boost that makes Joe Rosenberg believe he could be among the best steer wrestlers in the world is keeping him from proving it.

“The end is farther away now than it was six or seven years ago,” the 44-year-old Pendleton, Ore., cowboy said. “When I got my new wife she brought out my potential, I guess.”

Maybe that’s because she took over his little black book.

“I knew these steers,” he said after his 4.1-second run Sunday afternoon was good enough to tie for fourth as the Boot Corral ProRodeo Classic closed its three-day run at the Coliseum. “There’s a lot of steers a guy can be 4 (seconds) on. I had one I knew would be a real test if I could get to him quick enough. He runs pretty hard and I could take a hard start.”

That’s easier said than done with the thick, wet dirt on the arena floor.

“The horses have a tough time,” Rosenberg explained. “The calves are so much lighter they scoot across. The horses are so much bigger they dig in.”

Rosenberg knew the steer because his wife keeps a book on them year-round. She writes down all the times turned in on each one, from the time a stock contractor brings out a new pen of steers, usually around the first of June, until they are turned out for team roping or sold for practice about this time of year - after they’ve gained about 100 pounds from their 450-500-pound starting weight.

As two-time defending Columbia River ProRodeo Circuit steer wrestling champion, Rosenberg knows he could keep up with the best in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association if he didn’t want to be with his wife and 5-year-old son while running a vinyl siding and replacement window business.

“It would take a sponsor,” he said. “It’s a real expensive game, especially when you’ve got the pressure of a wife and 5-year-old. I could survive but I want to provide for them. I could make it. I have the best horse.”

Rosenberg, who left his horse at home because of the arena conditions, figures it would take winnings of about $30,000 to make the PRCA top 15 and qualify for the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. He has finished around $15,000 in winning the circuit championship. He said a big payday in Cheyenne or Houston might push him down the road to the big time and he figures he still has time.

“I’ve got a 5-year-old boy, I’ve got to stick around long enough to help him,” he said.

Sunday’s final performance before a crowd of 4,643, which brought the three-day total to 14,928, was good enough to see cowboys place well enough to win a paycheck, although no leaders emerged.

The biggest check went to bull rider Richard Stapleman of Benton City, Wash. The 79 he turned in Saturday night on Gunsmoke stood up for a first-place payoff of $1,183.40. Wade Leslie, the 100-point cowboy, rode White Hope to a 75 on Sunday for third place.

Lee Graves of Williams Lake, British Columbia, was the biggest winner. His winning 9.4-second run in calf roping on Saturday was worth $1,164 and he finished sixth in steer wrestling with a 4.2-second run to win $160.05.

Steer wrestling was the only event to pay six because of the number of entries. The other events paid the top four. Shawn Sullivan of Moses Lake won the steer wrestling with a 3.4-second effort. He earned $928.29.

Graves’ brother, Wade, won the bareback with a 75-point ride Friday on King Mountain, good for $888.52. Second was Mike Hammer, who won the bareback riding the first two years of this rodeo. With a check of $666.39, the Pasco cowboy has won $2,313.48.

The only other cowboy to place here all three years is Tom Camarillo of Hermiston, Ore. Camarillo, who also competes in steer wrestling and calf roping, placed third in team roping with Phil Urbach of Pasco, picking up $324.95, giving him a three-year total of $2,924.25.

Winning the team roping was Guy Gregg of Milton-Freewater, Ore., and Dave Inman of Colfax. They picked up $649.90 each for their 6.5-second effort on Friday.

Gary Alger of Pendleton won $981.64 in saddle bronc riding. He had a 76 on Integrity on Saturday.

Bull rider Todd Martin of Colbert was bucked off Herbie and, after being thrown around as bullfighter Anthony Moore tried to get his hand loose, landed under the bull. He left the arena on a stretcher and was taken to Deaconess Medical Center, where he was treated for general injuries and released.