Rodeo: SandHills Notebook

>> Friday’s highlights: Rough-stock royalty rolls into the Permian Basin tonight when three-time world champion Will Lowe of Canyon makes his trip to the 75th SandHills Stock Show and Rodeo at Ector County Coliseum.

Lowe, 25, turned professional in 2001 and captured his crowns in 2003, 2004 and 2006 and finished second in 2007 by less than $17,000, winning the average at the National Finals Rodeo with 846 points on 10 horses.

Lowe currently sits second in the world standings for the 2008 season.

>> Feeding those who help: Every year, the Chuck Wagon Gang cooks nightly meals for the competitors and officials of the rodeo, planning for a certain amount of meals each night.

However, if the volunteers that run the Dirt Diner have any food left over, they don’t let it go to waste. Instead, one of the volunteers takes the food to one of several fire stations in Odessa, surprising the fire fighters with the late-night meals.

>> Tough enough?: Each year, the top rodeos designate one of the performances as "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" night, with the staff, officials and as many of the competitors wearing pink shirts in to support the fight against breast cancer.

It was the Permian Basin’s turn Thursday night, with more than 50 percent of the cowboys in the lightly-colored shirts.

>> Local favorite: Brody Bolton is a familiar face to those around the Odessa rodeo scene.

A former president of the Odessa College Wranglers rodeo team, Bolton has competed in this event for the past several years, with varied success.

Thursday night, Bolton returned to the arena after recovering from a broken leg, bolting into the Coliseum aboard Little Bear. The horse broke well, but then ran down the arena, Bolton spuring the entire way en route to a 72-point score.

>> Moving into the money: The team ropers raised the bar and lowered the times Thursday. First Charly Crawford of Prineville, Ore., teammed with Tyler Magnus of Lampasas to rope their steer in 5.8 seconds to take the lead. Moments later, eight-time world champion header Speed Williams and four-time world champion heeler Allen Bach caught theirs in 5.9 seconds for second place.

Cody Wright, a five-time qualifier for the National Finals Rodeo, showed his experienced in the saddle bronc division, scoring 84 points aboard Speed Control to take the lead in the go-round. Jake Halverson of Amarillo also put himself in position to cash a check in saddle bronc riding, scoring 83 points aboard Spice Mix. The puts him in a tie for fourth with Heath Ford, with two performances remaining in this year’s rodeo.

Also doing well was bull rider Luke Haught of Weatherford, who drew Bad To The Bone for his eight-second trip. When the horn sounded, Haught scored 81 points to move into third place behind Seth Glause (86) and Stormy Wing (84).