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2/06/2007
"Rodeo Community Comes together for Brian
Fulton..."
Fulton Family Benefit Auction raises $115,000
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Courtesy of the PRCA –
Friends came to the aid of former PRCA tie-down
roper and steer wrestler Brian Fulton recently,
raising an eye-boggling $115,000 during the
inaugural Brian Fulton Family Benefit Auction,
held Feb. 3 at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Rapid
City, S.D.
The auction was highlighted by a group effort
led by Colorado ropers Cory Zion and Charlie
Kingsbury, who, with the help of more than 30
cowboys, chipped in to buy the 1993 National
Finals Rodeo average saddle donated by world
champion tie-down roper Troy Pruitt.
The final bid: a cool $10,500.
“My goal was to get about $3,000 put together,”
said Zion from his home in Idalia, located some
150 miles east of Denver. “Charlie Kingsbury and
I came up with the idea. We just started calling
guys and it just snowballed. I never even
dreamed of coming up with so much from so many
guys.”
During the live auction, Zion and 10-time
Wrangler National Finals Rodeo steer wrestler
Birch Negaard sent the bidding far and above
what most people were willing to spend.
Then it just kept climbing.
“I told Birch that I had $10,500, and I wanted
to spend it all,” Zion said. “I knew that even
if we didn’t get the saddle, we were going to
give the money to Brian anyway.”
For the group, there was more motivation than
helping a family friend like Fulton, who has
been battling cancer since September and has
undergone two surgeries, the most recent just
before Thanksgiving to remove a second
aggressive tumor in his brain.
That’s helping out another family friend in
Pruitt.
“I’ve known Troy for nearly 24 years, and I
hated to see him and his boy (Riley) not have
that saddle,” Zion said. “That is a special
item, and we thought maybe they should have that
back.”
And Fulton, who’s back to riding and roping
while continuing treatment, certainly
appreciated the standing-room-only turnout and
fellowship.
“He was so moved,” said Chad Pelster, a tie-down
roper from Belle Fourche, S.D. “I lived with him
for 5 or 6 years, and he’s like my dad. It was
pretty hard to talk to him over the weekend
without both of us moving to tears. It was so
humbling for him. He appreciates everything so
much.”
Those who missed the auction can still make a
difference. A fund has been established to help
defray the staggering cost of the Fulton’s
medical bills. Individuals can send a
tax-deductible donation in the name of the Brian
Fulton Fund to the Dakota State Bank, P.O. Box
206, Blunt, S.D., 57522.
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