The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

SOAR’s Cabana Club turned into an indoor rodeo arena for SOAR’s first Cowboy Night for middle and high schoolers Friday night, February 25.

Boots, belts and cowboy hats were the attire of the evening, as country music filled the facility.

Tom Coffield, SOAR’s director, estimated that about 70 middle schoolers and 40 high schoolers were in attendance at the event. The entry fee of $10 bought $60 worth of Cowboy Bucks which could be used to buy pizza, pop, bull riding, calf roping and entry into other games. At the end of the evening, Cowboy Bucks could be cashed in for raffle tickets, T-shirts, hats, and other outdoor paraphernalia.

Big draws for the event were the mechanical bull and calf roping machines. Participants lined up eagerly awaiting their turn to ride the bull that pitched most of them onto the large air-filled cushion that surrounded it. Shouts of encouragement and advice were the order of the evening as students repeatedly attempted to tame the mechanical beast.

Lassoing was also a popular pastime. Sitting astride a life-sized horse, only a few were able to lasso a mechanical calf that ran out before them.

Both the mechanical bull and the lassoing events were provided by Black Horse and Company of Alfalfa.

According to the event organizer, Greg Garretson, “This event could not have happened without substantial donations from the Sisters Rodeo Association, Bonnie Malone and Leavitt’s. They all helped make this a great night for the kids.”

Ben Coffield, teen supervisor for SOAR, said, “The kids all had a great time. A lot of them were asking when we would have this event again.”

SOAR regularly puts on Cabana Club events for Sisters teens.