'The Jim Shoulders Great Western Weekend' Rides Into Tulsa May 12-14; Prestigious Events to Deliver Rodeo's Finest and National TV Exposure

'The Jim Shoulders Great Western Weekend' Rides Into Tulsa May 12-14; Prestigious Events to Deliver Rodeo's Finest and National TV Exposure

TULSA, Okla., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Tulsa will host one of professional rodeo's most prestigious events -- the championship finals of the Wrangler ProRodeo Winter Tour known as the Pace Picante ProRodeo Chute-out -- as well as an Xtreme Bulls 2006 Ride Hard Tour stop and a western trade fair during a three-day festival honoring Oklahoma rodeo legend and native Tulsan Jim Shoulders at the Tulsa Convention Center on May 12-14, 2006.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060123/DAM026LOGO )

The announcement for The Jim Shoulders Great Western Weekend was made today at a City Hall press conference attended by Shoulders with Tulsa Mayor Bill LaFortune, Tulsa Convention & Visitors Bureau senior vice president Suzann Stewart, Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Commissioner Troy Ellerman, Winnercomm president Jim Wilburn and Steve Rempelos, executive vice president of Pro Rodeo Tour LLC.

Shoulders' record of 16 world championships in multiple events may never be surpassed. He was a five-time World Champion All-Around Cowboy, seven-time World Champion Bull Rider and four-time World Champion Bareback Bronc Rider, winning all 16 world titles in a 10-year span, from 1949-59. Born in Tulsa on May 13, 1928, Shoulders retired to his Henryetta ranch in 1970, where he operated a successful stock contracting business as well as a rodeo production company and rodeo riding school. Shoulders is a member of the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Rodeo Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City.

"We have attracted a major league event with big benefits for Tulsa," said LaFortune. "We will be hosting a prestigious national event that delivers a significant economic impact and tremendous national TV exposure for the city and the state."

Event organizers anticipate nearly 8,000 out-of-town visitors for The Jim Shoulders Great Western Weekend and three national television telecasts that will showcase the city and provide a total economic impact to the city of approximately $3.5 million for the 2006 event.

"I started rodeoing when I was 14, right here in East Tulsa," said Shoulders. "This new event will bring today's best cowboys back again to my hometown while honoring the traditions and legends of the past. I'm proud it bears my name and glad to see it held right here where it all began for me."

The Pace Chute-out is the championship event for the Wrangler ProRodeo Winter Tour. Contestants reach a Pace tour finale by finishing in the top 12 of the Winter Tour standings after the final rodeo of the series. All 12 contestants in each event participate in the opening round; the top eight advance to a semi-final round where times and scores are erased. The top four from the semi-finals then advance to the final round, where scores and times determine the winners.

"The Jim Shoulders Great Western Weekend will provide an exciting package of compelling rodeo action featuring the best athletes in all of ProRodeo," said Ellerman. "This level of championship competition only happens in two other places outside the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, so Oklahoma rodeo fans are in for a real treat."

The Jim Shoulders Great Western Weekend will open on Friday, May 12 at 8 p.m. with an Xtreme Bulls 2006 Ride Hard Tour event featuring the nation's top bull riders, including Matt Austin who captured the 2005 world champion bull riding title with record earnings of $320,766. The Tulsa Xtreme Bulls 2006 Ride Hard Tour event will be televised on ESPN on May 21 at 2 p.m. with a repeat airing on ESPN2 on May 28.

Tulsa-based Winnercomm, America's largest independent sports production company, recently acquired the licensing rights to the PRCA's Xtreme Bulls Tour through 2008. Tour sponsors include Wrangler and Montana Silversmiths, the leading buckle and jewelry manufacturer in the western industry and Official Silversmiths of the PRCA. Additional sponsors are expected to be announced shortly.

"Bull riding is America's original extreme sport," said Wilburn. "Winnercomm loves the entire sport of rodeo and we think Xtreme Bulls has the potential to be a great franchise. We want Tulsa to play a part in building that franchise with a nationally televised championship rodeo event that pays tribute to one of our great native sons and a true hero of the sport, the legendary Jim Shoulders."

The Pace Chute-out begins on Saturday, May 13 at 8 p.m. at the Convention Center Arena. Professional rodeo's top athletes will compete in seven different events including bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, steer wrestling, tie-down roping, team roping and barrel racing.

The championship finals of the Pace Chute-out will be on Sunday, May 14 beginning at 3 p.m. National television coverage of the Pace Chute-out will be on CBS.

The Jim Shoulders Great Western Weekend will also feature a three-day western trade fair with vendors offering a unique collection of merchandise for the western lifestyle including apparel, home furnishings, jewelry, art, boots, hats, saddles and tack.

Event tickets will go on sale Monday, Feb. 13 and can be purchased at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Ticket Office, by phone at 918-596-7111 or 1-800- 364-7111, on the internet at http://www.tulsaconvention.com/ and at participating Homeland stores.

The web site for The Jim Shoulders Great Western Weekend is http://www.greatwesternweekend.com/ .

Media Contacts:
Kim Macleod Lynda Haschke
Community Affairs Manager Director of PR
City of Tulsa Winnercomm
918-596-7803 or 527-0164 918-496-1900 or 972-740-3529
kmacleod@cityoftulsa.orglhaschke@winnercomm.com

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060123/DAM026LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Winnercomm

CONTACT: Kim Macleod, Community Affairs Manager of City of Tulsa,
+1-918-596-7803, or +1-918-527-0164, or kmacleod@cityoftulsa.org ; or Lynda
Haschke, Director of PR of Winnercomm, +1-918-496-1900 or +1-972-740-3529, or
lhaschke@winnercomm.com

Web site: http://www.tulsaconvention.com/
http://www.greatwesternweekend.com/

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