No. 1 Header Luke Brown breaks down the entry process for Proodeo athletes through ProCom.
TCC: Tell us about ProCom. What is it?
LB: It’s our entering system for the PRCA. You call in and talk to an agent, letting them know your preference and when you want to be up and where.
TCC: Is there a process in place that they award you your preferences, how often, when and where?
LB: They use a priority number system. Every rodeo has a new priority number and you could be lowest priority or highest priority depending on which number they draw for each event. If your number hits good, you get what you ask for. If it hits bad, then they’ll place you where they need you. Its all about Luck of the Draw. You’re supposed to get your preference 51% of the time.
TCC: When you call, you can talk to an actual person?
LB: Yes, you can talk through everything with an actual person.
TCC: New, this year they allow entering online. What is your opinion of the advancement?
LB: I like it, at first, I thought it was going to be hard to do but now I like it way better. You can pick your preferences online. It’s really detailed and much timelier.
TCC: What is the Grace Period?
LB: The Grace Period is a two hour window after the books close for you to change your preference, you can change your days if there are too many entries on a certain night and work the numbers to get what you want in order for your travel to be efficient. The only stipulation to utilize the Grace Period is that you have to be entered before the books close. In order to utilize these opportunities to the benefit of the athlete, they’ve also created a website that is in real time to see when slacks are and who has requested what performance and how many the committee will run in every performance.
TCC: Can you enter more than one rodeo at a time?
LB: Each rodeo leaves the books open for two days. Bigger rodeos like Reno, you enter about 3 weeks in advance. Smaller rodeos, you usually enter about a week in advance. Cheyenne is so big you might enter two months ahead of time. When you call in, there may be five rodeos open that day, and you can enter all five that day.
TCC: How often do you have to worry about entering rodeos?
LB: Every morning I will log on and see what rodeos are opening and what is closing.
TCC: Is it better to enter the rodeo as soon as it opens or when books are fixing to close?
LB: It doesn’t matter.
TCC: When you see a big slack, say at rodeos like Weatherford, TX and everyone wants to compete during slack. Why is that?
LB: Rodeos like Weatherford have slack on Tuesday or Wednesday. Being able to rodeo in the middle of the week like that leaves you the rest of the week to hit other rodeos.
TCC: Is entering the rodeos an art?
LB: Yes, I learned everything from Martin Lucero. He’s the best there is. You have to look at everything available that week and decide when the steers are going to be the best. Is the rerun better? Is the first run better? If steers are at a rodeo all week, they’re probably better at the end. You enter the better rodeos around when the steers will be the best and fill the rest of the week around that.
TCC: You know which rodeos mean the most and which ones you need to prioritize when entering?
LB: Yes, that’s why the bigger rodeos open two weeks prior so you can create the advantage.
TCC: How do you manage entering during the busy times of the year, like Fourth of July? Is entering a one-man job to coordinate the rigs, flights, horses, etc.?
LB: It’s a thought-out process that takes time and you have to create scenarios. If your number is good and you’re getting what you want then it’s easy, if your number draw is bad you rework things and make things work. If you have to do a lot of reworking then you’re probably catching more flights, renting more cars, and mounting out more.
TCC: Each rodeo is a different format. Some are tournament style, some are one headers, some are two steers and an average. Does that play into how you enter?
LB: Yes, every detail count.
TCC: Is there an advantage to being a veteran and entering? Is entering harder for a rookie?
LB: Yes, on a normal year you know how you want to travel, when and where. The main thing to think about when entering is that if you are going to make a living and want to go to the NFR, you have to do good at the big ones because you can’t win enough at the little ones. Being hardheaded and asking questions is how you learn to utilze the advantages.
Kord Etbauer
TCC: What is a trade?
LB: Now there are a lot more one headers than there are average rodeos. If you get at two different rodeos on the same day or your plans are different than how you drew you can trade with someone who has what you need. Trades are hard to get because what you want is usually what the seasoned athletes all want.
TCC: Does the PRCA work with you on trades?
LB: No. We have to figure it out amongst ourselves. Sometimes it takes bribes and negotiating to make it all work. I’ve paid $1000 plus a guy’s fees one time to get what I needed because it was that important.
TCC: If you need to draw out does it affect you when entering in the future? With trades?
LB: No, it is a $25 fee to turn out.
TCC: If you can only make one preference work, can you declare that prior to call backs?
LB: Yes. If you can only go on Friday night at one rodeo, you can enter “Friday or Out” and if your number doesn’t hit good or you can’t get up when you need to then they draw you out. If there are vet releases or trades or other draw outs that create an open spot, they will put you back in too. It’s called out or replace.
TCC: Is there a method or reason to enter perfs over slack or vice versa?
LB: No, that doesn’t matter. The most important tool is knowing the cattle. At the best rodeos of the week, the best teams want to go toward the end. You feed off of momentum amongst your competitors.
TCC: We talked last week with Wesley Thorp about the buddy teams. Does the PRCA automatically enter you with your buddy team?
LB: No, you have to have everyone’s card numbers. The guy entering is the “Primary” and that’s whose number is used for the entering priorities. You can’t play the system, so I am usually the primary. Enter smart so your guaranteed to get what you want. We’ve probably gotten what we wanted 75% of the time, but we are considerate of the way they need to fill perfs.
TCC: Does every athlete fend for himself or are there guys out there that will do all your entering for you?
LB: I’m sure there are people that need help. It takes a while to get it all figured out. Manny Egusquiza helps some of the guys. I feel like it’s much easier now with the online because it’s all right there and you can check numbers and its real time.
TCC: Explain Call Backs
LB: It’s a science and it takes a lot of trial and error. Call backs are the grace period after books close for all of the trades to happen. With the online tool now, it’s much easier but you’ve got to be paying attention to what’s happening as soon as the books close and you have to have your buddy teams or hauling partners working with you to make sure you get the trades and releases you need and then communicate it to one another so you’re not wearing people out.
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