So is this battle between the rough stock riders and timed event guys a new development in rodeo?

Check out Fred Schnell's book from 1971, "Rodeo! The Suicide Circuit," and on Page 38 you'll find this exchange.

"It don't take much skill to be a bulldogger or a roper," said Clyde Vamvoras, 29, the colorful, salty ex-bareback champ. "You get lucky and draw one of those little bitty steers one day, and you can throw him in no time flat, not having to worry about style or spurring or nothing. And a good roper is mostly his horse. A lot of riders enter the bull dogging, and roping events, but how many ropers or bull doggers do you ever see consistently in the riding events. Hardly none. In the first place, most of 'em are too fat. They just don't have the reflexes. There ain't nothing that takes more skill in rodeoing than riding."

From the other end of the arena, "Those little riders don't have the strength to do much more than sit on their rocking horses and shoot off their mouths," said 6-foot-2, 215-pound Alan Keller, 28, a former national collegiate wrestling champion, one of rodeo's top bulldoggers and ropers, and because of his strength, one of the most feared men in rodeo.

That was nearly four decades ago. Thanks to Ike Eichler of Miles City, Mont., for getting that to me.

I also spoke to Steve Gander, a former rodeo producer of the "Worlds Toughest," about this subject. We come down on the same side of the issue. In order for rodeo to work, there needs to be all of the events.

Now that leaves us with steer roping. If we include all the events, steer roping was there before others as a regular part of ranch work, before bull riding or barebacks or steer wrestling.

So what do we do with the steer roping? Leave it out back like a servant instead of part of the family? Two-time world champ Jim Davis told me that the first time he really felt like part of the PRCA family was during the Hall of Fame induction. Shawn Burchett rode with me on the plane from Las Vegas after his championship and was deeply hurt by the PRCA shunning him at the awards banquet.

Timed events and rough stock, an age-old battle of pride.

Yet one writer told me that he believed the real "all-around" should be the cowboy that wins the most on both ends of the arena, rather than just a bronc rider who also rides barebacks, or a calf roper who also steer ropes. Interesting thoughts from an informed readership.

Have a great week. I'll see ya down the road.

Irv Bard reports that Don Kings' funeral, held at the Big Horn Equestrian Center south of Sheridan, Wyo., provided a setting that as close as you could get to God.

The beauty of that 100 acres of grass surrounded by tall mountain peaks and amazing weather was perfect for the huge crowd that attended in early August. After the service, Irv says they served piles of food; they barbequed beef, pork, chicken and sausage. Then later in the afternoon a lone bugler played "Taps." After he was done there was a stillness in the air for just a moment, then single clap of thunder rang out loud and clear as it God Himself was saying goodbye to ol' Don.

Jim Thompson, a veteran rodeo announcer, can be heard on the daily network radio talk show "Live with Jim Thompson" across North and South Dakota each weekday at 1 p.m. Locally he can be heard on KBHB 810 AM in Sturgis.