7/2/2009 12:22:00 AM RODEO 2009: Parsons family knows its way around Prescott's rodeo
Les Stukenberg/The Daily Courier
Clay Parsons, 47, seen here competing in Tuesday's tie-down competition, said travelling to and competing in rodeos with his family has brought them closer together.
Les Stukenberg/The Daily Courier
Erin Parsons, 22, seen here competing in Tuesday's barrel racing event, has competed in rodeos alongside several family members for most of her life.
PRESCOTT - Christmas is a time for family. Cowboy Christmas? That works for the Parsons family.
Joe Parsons...and his brother Clay...and his brother Cutter, his son Joseph and his daughter Erin all compete in rodeo and all have been, or will be, in Prescott this week.
And by no means are those the only ones in the family that compete.
Most everyone stopping by to compete at the Prescott Frontier Days World's Oldest Rodeo this week can say rodeo runs in his or her family.
You might say the Parsons family from the Marana runs in rodeos.
"It's just been part of our family for so long you don't even think about it," said Erin, 22, before she competed in barrel racing on Tuesday night.
That day, Erin and uncle Clay, 47, happened to be in town at the same time.
"We get to see each other quite a bit," Erin said of her family. "Sometimes we'll try to enter to get up about the same time."
But she said the fact that she and her uncle were in Prescott on the same day was a coincidence.
Sort of.
"There is never a coincidence with the Parsons family," Clay said before his tie-down run. "We go together, we drive together, we eat together. Never a coincidence.
"We always know where everybody is at the same time. We always take care of each other. We're really a close family."
Although at this time of year things are pretty busy, so they aren't all traveling together.
Joe Sr. was supposed to ride Wednesday night. But when his turn came up, he was nowhere to be found. Clay, still in town, got on his cell phone and called Joe and said his brother would be in town today instead.
Joseph Jr., 24, is also slated to compete tonight and Cutter, 26, is scheduled for Saturday.
"The younger guys are going to quite a few more rodeos..." Clay said. "Us older guys, we just go to the closer ones. But we used to do that also."
Joseph Jr. is ranked 28th in the world in tie-down roping and finished seventh in that event last year in Prescott.
Cutter was seventh in the all-around last year at the World's Oldest Rodeo and won it in 2007. He and his nephew Joseph are the stars these days.
"Joe Sr. and I, we're basically just competing to see how good we can do," Clay said. "If we win something, that's a bonus. We come because we want to support rodeo, we love Prescott, we love the fans, we love to get away from our jobs and get a breath of fresh air. But standouts are Joseph and Cutter. They're different, but they're both wicked."
It's not that strange in the rodeo world to have families like his. More than two dozen families are represented in Prescott this week with at least two competitors.
But large families like the Parsons?
"There's probably only about half a dozen of us around the United States," Clay said. "...It's really not that different than say a family that was really good like the Ripkens (in baseball)."
While it's rare they're all together, their paths cross often even at this, the busiest time of the year.
"The Parsons all live within a quarter mile of each other and have for 30 years in Marana. " Clay said. "We have dinner at their houses every other night, we rope together every other night. We work together all day long. We actually get along damn good."
