Rodeo Roundup Regional Affairs Popular With Tourists, Riders

Rodeo contestants who live for the adrenaline rush of calf roping, bull riding or barrel racing compete in two, even three, rodeos each weekend. Covering thousands of miles in a season, they trailer their horses behind pickups and recreational vehicles, and breathe rodeo dust until no other air seems right.

It stands to reason they’d become fond of the finest rodeo destinations.

Chief Joseph Days in Joseph, Ore., is a favorite for families. “It’s the one we take the kids to and spend the entire weekend,” says Dana Greg, a barrel racer from Milton-Freewater, Ore.

For road-addicted cowboys to spend an entire weekend in one spot, that place must have a draw.

“Joseph is break time,” says Stacey Jess, a barrel racer from Grand Coulee. “Everybody loves the fabulous mountain scenery, Wallowa Lake and renting paddle boats.”

Chief Joseph Days, always held the last full weekend of July, includes two parades, an encampment of the Nez Perce and Umatilla Indians, and four rodeo performances. The rodeo is sanctioned by PRCA (Pro-Rodeo Cowboy Association), meaning spectators are treated to some of the best cowboy performances in the world. PRCA events draw “the names you see on TV, the cowboys you’ll see at the National Rodeo Finals,” says PRCA Columbia River Circuit secretary Edie Longfellow.

Most professional cowboys compete in one of seven events. Timed events include barrel racing, team roping, steer wrestling and calf roping. The “roughstock” events, which all involve bucking, are bull riding, saddle bronc and bareback riding.

Most rodeos also have special events that local residents look forward to all year. At Joseph, it’s the wild-cow-milking contest, where the town’s general citizenry compete to see who can maintain the most composure while falling off a three-legged stool or getting kicked by a milk cow.

Of all the rodeos’ special events, the cowboys’ favorite - and the most famous worldwide - is the Omak Stampede’s Suicide Race. This spectacle, which originated with local Indian tribes, involves 20 riders and horses racing straight down the 210-foot, 33-degree Suicide “Hill” (it looks more like a cliff) into the Omak River. The horses then swim 345 feet across the river and thunder into the rodeo arena. All of this takes place under floodlights for the night rodeo performances. The Sunday matinee provides spectators a daytime view of this western free-for-all.

The Omak rodeo, one of the biggest PRCA rodeos in the Northwest (and always the second weekend in August), holds a certain fondness to cowboys for other reasons, too. Bo Sewell, an Oregon calf roper, thinks Omak is the best overall destination. The grounds include a swimming pool, and are within walking distance to an old-fashioned, thriving downtown. Wade Jess, team roper from Grand Coulee, says it has the best grounds for parking RVs.

Cowboys camp free, but overnight RV parking for spectators is available, too, for $5 (no hookups). Water and coin-operated showers are available nearby. Most big rodeos make RV parking accessible; each local Chamber of Commerce can provide details.

The biggest rodeo in the region to win high marks from contestants is the Pendleton Round-Up, held in mid-September. “This rodeo does the best job at keeping the western tradition alive,” says Sewell.

The cowboy’s heart is, at the core, sentimental. From the galloping, tear-jerking presentation of the American (and often, in this area, Canadian) flag at the beginning of each rodeo to the strict western dress code, tradition rules at the rodeo. Everyone, even press, is required to wear a cowboy hat when inside the competition arena. Forget your hat, cowpoke, and you risk a fine.

That’s why the Pendleton Round-Up’s Happy Canyon Pageant, presented next to the rodeo arena each evening after the rodeo performance, is so popular. The pageant depicts western America’s history, from pre-settler Indian life to frontier conflict and more.

Of course, big doesn’t always mean best, for spectators or cowboys. Most rodeos aren’t even PRCA-sanctioned. Over 500 competitors belong to Pro-West (Professional Western Rodeo Association), and compete in the 40 rodeos on this smaller, regional circuit. Among these, Newport is a favorite. “It’s a little town in the woods with a big rodeo,” says barrel racer Stacey Jess.

“The Newport rodeo grounds is in one of the prettiest locations,” agrees calf roper Scott Goodwin of Kennewick. The rodeo (held June 27-29) is so popular with contestants that 343 cowboys competed during last year’s three-day event.

Many rodeos include entertainment, such as a trained-buffalo act or horse-and-rider drill teams. At Newport, this year’s special act features country-western singer Kati Chase and line dancers.

Even rodeo announcers have their favorites. Announcer Steve Kenyon, from Pendleton, looks forward to announcing the Bonners Ferry rodeo, mostly because he loves the rustic lodgings where he stays.

Fresh homemade raisin bread and orange juice is served each morning at the 22-room Bonners Ferry Log Inn (208-267-3986), and each room is furnished in the “log look.”

This year the Bonners Ferry rodeo is teaming up with Kootenai River Days, and will include a western-style parade (lots of horses and no floats), along with a three-on-three basketball tournament, raft race and street dance. The sheriff will be “ticketing” anyone in non-western garb. Three rodeo performances will be held June 20-21. Over 100 cowboys from throughout the region will compete. “We had to turn roughstock riders away last year, we had so many competitors,” says Barb Robertson, rodeo organizer.

Big or small, every rodeo offers rough-riding excitement - that’s why the cowboys and cowgirls go. But, as the rodeo announcers are so fond of saying, “You - the audience - provide the payoff for most of these competitors, with your applause and appreciation.” So visit a rodeo this summer and give those dusty, limping, talented folks a hand.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: 1997 DATES Colville PRCA Rodeo, June 13-15, (509) 684-5973. Ketchum Kalf Rodeo, Glenwood, Wash., June 14-15, (509) 493-3630. Bonners Ferry Kootenai River Days, June 20-21, (208) 267-5922. Newport PWRA Rodeo, June 27-29, (509) 447-5812. Toppenish Pow Wow Rodeo & Parade, July 3-6, (509) 865-3262. Calgary Stampede, July 4-13, (403) 261-0101. Cheney Rodeo, July 11-13, (509) 235-8480. Frontier Days Rodeo & Celebration, Springdale, July 19-20, (509) 684-5973. Lake Chelan Rodeo, July 25-26, (800) 424-3526. Deer Park Rodeo, July 25-27, 276-2444. Chief Joseph Days, July 25-27, (541) 432-1015. Deer Park PeeWee Rodeo, Aug. 3, 276-2444. Omak Stampede, Aug. 7-10, (800) 933-6625. Moses Lake Roundup Rodeo, Aug. 13-16, (509) 765-6393. Pend Oreille County Fair and Rodeo, Cusick, Aug. 14-17, (509) 447-5812. North Central Washington District Fair and Rodeo, Waterville, Aug. 21-24, (509) 745-8480. North Idaho Fair and Rodeo, Coeur d’Alene, Aug. 22-24, (208) 765-4969. Klickitat County Fair and Rodeo, Goldendale, Aug. 23-24, (509) 364-3438. Ellensburg Rodeo, Aug. 29-Sept. 1, (800) 637-2444. Spokane Interstate Fair and Rodeo, Sept. 5-14, (800) 248-3230. Pendleton Round-Up, Sept. 10-13, (800) 45-RODEO. Othello Rodeo, Sept. 12-13, (800) 684-2556. Columbia County Fair and Rodeo, Dayton, Sept. 12-14, (800) 882-6299. Central Washington State Fair, Yakima, Sept. 19-28, (509) 221-0751.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Kristi G. Streiffert Special to Travel