Each year, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association names winners in Rodeo of the Year categories of Small Outdoor, Medium Rodeo, Large Outdoor and Large Indoor.

The West Texas Fair & Rodeo in Abilene is nominated in the Medium Rodeo of the Year section along with Kitsap County Stampede in Bremerton, Wash., Deadwood Days of '76 in South Dakota, Huntsville Rodeo in Texas, and Ogden Pioneer Days in Utah.

The winners for all categories will be announced at the PRCA awards ceremony Dec. 3 in Las Vegas during the National Finals Rodeo.

Week one of college rodeo

Western Texas College and Tarleton State University lead the men's and women's team category, respectively, after the first event of the 2008-09 season of the Southwest Region of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association.

The first rodeo was held at Eastern New Mexico University Sept. 18-20 in Portales, N.M. The next rodeo is Thursday-Saturday at Sul Ross State University in Alpine.

Vernon College was second in both men's and women's team competition at the first event.

McBride first cowboy to win $5 million

Justin McBride of Elk City, Okla., 29, surpassed the $5 million career earnings mark at a bull-riding event in Grand Rapids, Mich. He entered the event $1,500 shy of the mark.

McBride also holds the record for most money earned in a single season ($1,835,321) and has 32 career wins.

PRCA season ends Tuesday

With a few exceptions, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association 2008 season ends Sept. 30.

The exceptions are the inaugural Heartland ProRodeo Series Championship Oct. 3-11 in Waco, the Dodge Extreme Bulls Tour Championship Oct. 24 in Indianapolis and the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour Championship Nov. 7-9 in Dallas.

And with a nod to Hurricane Ike, the San Patricio Pro Rodeo in Sinton is postponed to Oct. 17-18.

All money races end with the 50th annual National Finals Rodeo Dec. 6-13 in Las Vegas.

All other events starting Oct. 1 will count toward the 2009 championships.

Racing in Parker County

Little attention is given to Trinity Meadows these days, but a 210-acre track is home to about 25 full-time trainers who regularly work some 100 horses among the 1,097 stalls at a location on Interstate 20 between Weatherford and Fort Worth.

Plus, there are daily "haul ins" that come from other stables but use the track to train their horses.

Originally named Clear Fork Downs in the late '40s and '50s, it has progressed from being Squaw Creek Downs to the present Trinity Meadows.

A recent article in the Weatherford Democrat outlined the history of the park with its 160,000-square-foot grandstand of four levels with seating capacity for 9,000.

It closed suddenly in 1996 after an ownership disagreement. Jim Dunnegan of Arlington purchased the facility in a 1997 bankruptcy sale. According to the article, Dunnegan has been before the Texas Racing Commission three times this year alone with the request to reopen the track.

Schedule update

Send information about your event or organization to Horse Column, P.O. Box 30, Abilene, 79604, fax (325) 670-5242 or e-mail sports@reporternews.com

Today Senior Team Ropers Association Finals, Taylor County Expo Center Horse Barn, Abilene

Thursday Southwest Region, National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association, Sul Ross State University, Alpine

Thursday-Sunday National Team Roping Horse Association, Taylor County Expo Center, Abilene

Oct. 12 Dist. 9, National Barrel Horse Association, Taylor County Expo Center, Abilene