Rodeo Ready

Keep an eye on these rodeo athletes as they head to Arlington in March

Although the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was recently canceled, the American Rodeo is coming up quick, bringing "the world's richest weekend in Western sports" to AT&T Stadium March 6-7.

With a host of COVID-19 health and safety protocols in place, fans can still expect to see all their favorite events and cowboys, albeit with a smaller crowd. If you're planning to attend, be sure you're outfitted properly in Wrangler genuine Western apparel.

From classic snaps to the ultimate riding jeans to denim jackets, you can put your best foot forward with clothing that fits just right and is made to endure.

Now that you're suited up in the appropriate gear, here are the top rodeo athletes to watch this year:

Tanner Aus
After finishing fourth in the 2020 Bareback Riding world standings, Tanner Aus is off to a hot start in 2021. The Minnesota cowboy already improved his position in the standings, finishing in the money at Rodeo Rapid City and the Dixie National Rodeo last month to move him into the No. 3 position. He will be chasing an even bigger check at AT&T Stadium next week that will pay off big in his pursuit of another Wrangler NFR qualification.

Will Lummus
Byhalia, Mississippi, bulldogger Will Lummus is probably wishing the winter weather would hang around a little longer. The three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier is dominating the winter rodeo run with a win at the Sandhills Stock Show & Rodeo in January, and another at the Silver Spurs Rodeo in February. The Wrangler-endorsed steer wrestler may on the cusp of winning one of the big ones — could this be his weekend?

Ryder Wright
2020 wasn't all that bad — just ask Ryder Wright. The Milford, Utah, native won four rounds of the 2020 Wrangler NFR to clinch his second Saddle Bronc World Championship, and he's looking to continue his luck in 2021. The five-time Wrangler NFR qualifier currently sits at seventh in the world standings, but he rides best on the big stage. Look out for this Saddle Bronc rider (and anyone with the last name Wright) when the action kicks off at AT&T Stadium.

Madison Outhier
In 2019, Madison Outhier captured the attention of the rodeo world by becoming The American’s Breakaway Roping Champion at age 16 in a packed AT&T Stadium. The next year she secured the title as the first-ever World Champion Breakaway Roper at the inaugural Women's Rodeo World Championships in the same arena. Could the venue be just as lucky for the Utopia, Texas, cowgirl this time?

Stetson Wright
Having nabbed the 2020 PRCA world champion title for both Bull Riding and the All-Around, as well as finishing seventh in the Saddle Bronc Riding at the 2020 Wrangler NFR, this Milford, Utah, athlete is ready for more. The 22-year-old wonder is off to a solid start in the 2021 season, sitting at fifth place in the Saddle Bronc standings and seventh in the Bull Riding. Chances are he will be a contender in both events when the chutes fly open in Arlington next weekend.

Ryder Wright was world champion at the 2020 Wrangler NFR.

PRCA ProRodeo photo by Alaina Stangle

Ryder Wright was world champion at the 2020 Wrangler NFR.

rodeo promoted shopping

Credit score

Shaquille O'Neal to school SMU students about money before DJing at campus

Courtesy photo

Shaquille O'Neal is going on tour to teach college students about financial credit.

Shaquille O’Neal is going back to school to teach about a subject he now knows well - money. The NBA legend, entrepreneur, philanthropist, sports analyst, and DJ is hitting the road to colleges around the country on a tour called the Credit One Bank Credit Tip Off Tour , starting at SMU’s Moody Coliseum on Monday, September 14.

According to a release, the free event will include a conversation about credit and a live DJ set from O’Neal, better known behind the turntables as DJ Diesel.

But it is not open to the public. Attendance is limited to just 500 enrolled SMU students, who must register for tickets.

O’Neal will be joined at SMU by Credit One Bank Chief Marketing Officer Michael Coleman. Sports creator and host Jenna Bandy will moderate the conversation.

The tour is designed to give college students practical information about building credit and avoiding common mistakes, the release says. Each event will include interactive games and activities before O’Neal takes over as DJ Diesel.

“Credit education isn’t often taught in school, so we built this tour with Shaquille O’Neal to help close that gap and empower young people to make informed credit decisions,” says Michael Coleman, Chief Marketing Officer at Credit One Bank, in the release. “As the brand that believes in forward momentum, we’re meeting students where they are to kick-start their credit education in a memorable, engaging way and help set them up for a successful financial future.”

The tour will address basics such as making payments on time, credit utilization, credit history, and credit mix. It will also feature the Credit Wreckers, a group of characters representing common credit mistakes, including Miss Payment, Max Out, Cancelina, and One Track Jack.

O’Neal says he learned about credit through his own mistakes and hopes to pass those lessons along to younger people.

“I’m always learning, I never stop,” O’Neal says in the release. “I learned credit the hard way. Nobody broke it down for me back then. Now I’ve got kids in college, kids right out of it, and I want them starting smarter than I did. That’s what the Credit One Bank Credit Tip Off Tour is about. And yeah, we’re still going to have fun.”

SMU is a natural place for the tour to start. O’Neal has lived part-time in the Dallas area since 2022, when he bought a $1.2 million Carrollton mansion. He sold it for $1.7 million and moved into his current 5,100 square-foot, approximately $2 million Rockwall County estate in 2024.

Since then, sightings of the megastar abound around Dallas-Fort Worth. In Mesquite in 2024, he treated 20 students to $500 shopping sprees at JCPenney. On another occasion he gave a $500 gift card to a couple he met at Fort Worth’s JCPenney, which they paid forward to children in need. And earlier this year at the Rockwall Target, he distributed $100 bills to shoppers at random. He's also behind the Big Chicken restaurant franchise, whose Fort Worth location recently closed.

In early July, a video of O'Neal cruising a Dallas lake in custom '64 Chevy Impala boat went viral.

After SMU, the tour will head to Georgia State University on October 23, Fred’s Bar in Baton Rouge on November 6, and Florida Atlantic University on November 9.

O’Neal’s tour is being produced by Medium Rare, the team behind events including Shaq’s Fun House, Travis Kelce’s Kelce Jam, and Dave Portnoy’s One Bite Pizza Fest.

The SMU event is free and open to 500 enrolled students. Registration is available through the Credit Tip Off Tour website.

shaquille oneal smu shaquille o'neal