Quarterly Magazine August 2022

Everything Horses and Livestock ® Magazine

Everything Horses and Livestock ® Magazine

where they run stockers year around and Neil helps with his wife Val’s goat operation, as well as training a few steer roping horses. In addition to their livestock operation, Neil also hauls cement for a major transport company. Due to the demands of his day job, Neil doesn’t get to rodeo or rope as much as he would like, but he says his bucket list is to enter Cheyenne and Pendleton just one more time. A Gold Card member of the PRCA, Neil is on the Wilson County Fair Association Board and is Chairman of their Rodeo Committee. Neil is married to Valerie (Val) Worrell, who works full time (FSA) and is a PRCA timer. In fact, Val is the timer for the K-State Rodeo each Spring at Weber Arena. Worrell‘s son, Colby and his wife Sarah have a cow/calf operation and a Ralco mineral dealership and Colby helps Neil train steer roping horses. We’re proud of our alumni and we love to hear what they’ve done with their lives and their successes. We wish the Worrell families the very best! Send us your information and we will do a “Where are they now?” segment on you too! To be included, send your bios to Mike Christiansen at mcssf@ yahoo.com. Go Cats!!

Where Are They Now? Mike Christiansen

Kansas State University Rodeo alumnus Neil Worrell was attending K-State in the late 70’s through 1981, when in his senior year, he qualified for the NIRA College National Finals Rodeo in the calf roping. Neil went on to have a very successful career in rodeo, qualifying numerous times for the PRCA Prairie Circuit Finals as well as (5) trips to the National Finals Rodeo in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1995, qualifying in the steer roping. In 1990 Neil won the National Finals Steer Roping Average. Also in 1990, Neil won the steer roping at the prestigious Pendleton Roundup in Pendleton, Oregon. Understandably, Pendleton is Neil’s favorite rodeo due to the setup and the atmosphere of the historic Happy Canyon Arena itself. Pendleton has been good to Neil too as he’s won money at Pendleton 80% of the time he’s entered the classic rodeo. In 1991 Neil made the trip to the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma to compete in the World’s Greatest Timed Event Cowboy. As many of you are aware, Neil’s roots are rich in the history of rodeo. Neil’s

grandfather, Everett Shaw was one of the founding fathers

of the PRCA as an original charter member holding Card # 7. Everett won 6 World Championships in the Steer Roping in his career and was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1980. “Papa”, as Neil called Everett, served on the Cowboy Turtles Association and RCA boards for 20 years. Neil’s dad, Sonny Worrell was the 1978 PRCA World Champion Steer Roper and qualified for the NFR 16 times in the calf roping. Sonny was inducted in the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame Class of 2006, the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame in Dodge City in 2010. These days, Neil owns and operates -11 Worrell Livestock

Everything Horses and Livestock® | August 2022 | EHALnews.com 8

9 Everything Horses and Livestock® | August 2022 | EHALnews.com