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Time to dust off the boots and get out the cowboy hat. Texas Stampede, a four-day, five-event entertainment extravaganza featuring world-class championship rodeo and premier country-western acts, bursts out of the chute at the new, state-of-the-art American Airlines Center(r) in Dallas October 25-28, 2001. The event, dubbed "cowboys, concerts and kids," aims to raise millions for Children's Medical Center of Dallas and the pediatric programs of University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. It will be the first major charitable event in the Center.

Top-ranked cowboys and the world's best horses and bulls are ready to make downtown Dallas a stampede of excitement for the second most important rodeo in North America. Texas Stampede is a top-tier rodeo, hosting the Copenhagen Cup Finale of the 2001 summer Wrangler ProRodeo Tour of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), with the richest regular-season purse of $700,000.

There are more than 700 rodeos held annually in North America. Texas Stampede is second in importance only to the National Finals Rodeo itself. Texas Stampede will feature all rodeo events, including bareback riding, barrel racing, bull riding, calf roping, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling and team roping, with top winning rodeo stars including Fred Whitfield, calf roping; Clint Corey, bareback; Speed Williams and Rich Skelton, team roping; Cody Hancock, bull riding; and Charmayne James, barrel racing. Texas Stampede will air on ESPN2 on November 4.

Immediately following each day of intense rodeo competition, chart-topping country music acts will take the stage for high-quality, full-length concerts produced by Clear Channel Entertainment, the world�s largest producer and marketer of live entertainment events. With the state-of-the-art American Airlines Center, the country�s newest and finest sports venue, the artists will take full advantage of the best sound system and lights show that technology offers. Artists scheduled to perform are:

Thursday, October 25 - Alan Jackson
Friday, October 26 - Robert Earl Keen and Willie Nelson
Saturday, October 27 Matinee - Sara Evans and Toby Keith
Saturday, October 27 Evening - Phil Vassar and Martina McBride
Sunday, October 28 - Lee Ann Womack and Clay Walker

"Children's Medical Center of Dallas and the pediatric programs at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School are honored to be the beneficiaries of Texas Stampede," said Dr. Brett P. Giroir, associate professor of pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and chief medical officer at Children�s Medical Center of Dallas. "With the action of the best rodeo competitors and the talent of America�s favorite country western artists, I have no doubt that Texas Stampede will be a world-class family event."

"The Texas Stampede will feature the best rodeo competitors on the best stock competing for the richest regular-season purse in North America at the new, state-of-the-art American Airlines Center," said Joel Williams, founding member of Texas Stampede Inc. "Children's Medical Center touches the lives of one out of seven children in Dallas, and the UT Southwestern Medical Center�s pediatrics program educates 40 percent of the pediatricians in North Texas. With both of these entities making a lasting impression on many families in North Texas, it is the logical choice that they should be the beneficiaries."

Show times for the Texas Stampede are Thursday, October 25, 7 to 11 p.m.; Friday, October 26, 7 to 11 p.m.; Saturday, October 27, noon to 4:30 p.m.; and 7:30 to 11:30 p.m.; and Sunday, October 28, 2001, 2 to 6:30 p.m. Individual tickets will be on sale at all TicketMaster locations beginning September 15. To order individual ticket by phone, the public can call (214) 373-8000 or metro (972) 647-5700, or on the Web at www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices range from $16 to $149.

Founding sponsors for the Texas Stampede are Bank of America, The Dallas Morning News, Hillwood, TXU and WFAA-TV. Additional sponsors include Andersen, Citigroup, Deloitte & Touche, EDS, Interstate Battery System of America, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Raytheon.

Children's Medical Center of Dallas is one of Child magazine's top 10 pediatric hospitals in America. The Joint Commission also recognizes the hospital for its excellence on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Information about Children�s can be found at www.childrens.com.

Children�s is one of only 14 national pediatric research centers sanctioned by the National Institute of Health. Through an affiliation with The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center of Dallas, the Children�s medical staff conducts research that is instrumental in developing treatments, therapies and greater understanding of pediatric diseases. Research programs in cancer, neonatology, kidney disease, infectious disease, pharmacology, sickle cell disease and psychiatry are nationally recognized.

Southwestern Medical Center is a multi-faceted academic institution nationally recognized for its excellence in educating physicians, biomedical scientists and other healthcare professionals. The Medical Center is comprised of Southwestern Medical School, Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Southwestern Allied Health Sciences School. These three schools currently train more than 3,400 medical, graduate and allied health students, residents and postdoctoral fellows each year. Additionally, UT Southwestern supports more than 1,900 research projects annually, totally more than $190 million.

The Texas Stampede is a 501(c)(3) organization that seeks to raise substantial funds for Children�s Medical Center of Dallas and the Pediatric Programs at UT Southwestern Medical Center by organizing and conducting, in conjunction with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, a televised, annual Championship Rodeo featuring PRCA's top-ranked cowboys. Rodeo competition will be followed with performances by chart-topping country music acts produced by Clear Channel Entertainment, the world�s largest producer and marketer of live entertainment events. For more information on events and tickets, visit www.texasstampede.org.

Edited by Jennifer Hutchinson

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