Rodeo treats Sisters to a wild ride

Competition draws the top cowboys to the Sisters Rodeo, and this year featured "one of the most star-studded line-ups we've had," according to the announcer.

But the entertainment is what draws the fans, and there was plenty of it in this year's show, June 12-14.

Even before the events started, there was plenty of action, with the Pepsi girls flying synchronized around the arena on beautiful horses and rodeo queens waving and smiling and showing the beauty and skill that earned them their titles.

A quiet moment was struck through the unique pledge of allegiance and the cowboy prayer. Audience members softly sang along with Peggy Tehan in the national anthem.

On Sunday, June 14, the audience thrilled to the eight Budweiser Clydesdales pulling a three-and-a-half-ton beer wagon and maneuvering it flawlessly. Announcers explained their historic techniques of manuevering in traffic or making room for another wagon at a beer loading dock.

When the events finally did begin, the crowd was ready to roll and hyped-up for the action. The cheering began the moment the wild horse race started and held steady through the entire event. The fans rooted on their favorite team as they wrestled their horse to a standstill, saddled up and got on to ride for as long as they could possibly hang on - not very long in most cases.

Then the calf roping began, with cowboys riding out to rope a calf, throwing it on its side and tying up three legs in one fluid motion.

The bareback bronc riding followed. The crowd booed when the judges posted a score that they thought was too low, chanted for re-rides, and booed when the rider was not granted one.

During the steer wrestling, the crowd winced every time the cowboy wrenched the steer's neck 180 degrees without getting the animal to fall down. It seemed as though the steer's head was going to be twisted clean off. But it turned out to be one of the competitors who got hurt here. Bill Pace was looking good when he released the steer's horns and grabbed at his knee instead. With the assistance of the medical crew, he was able to walk out of the arena.

The saddle bronc riding, provided a few "high rollers." Having a saddle didn't seem to help much; plenty of cowboys were thrown right off.

Next came the only women's event: barrel racing. The female audience became more vocal as the contestants rode around each of three barrels and dashed back to the starting line.

This event featured Sisters' only representation in this year's rodeo, Dean Ticoulat. Perhaps nervous in front of her home town, she had a rough time, missing the first turn and knocking a couple of barrels over.

The final event was the bull riding, the event that everybody comes to see and no one will leave early and miss. When a cowboy fell, gasps from the crowd arose because they knew that one hoof to the torso could mean that the cowboy leaves on a stretcher.

And so the rodeo ended. Like each one in Sisters' 58-year history, it offered a lot of tradition - and a few surprises.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of Sunday's performance was a proposal of marriage made on the arena announcer's microphone.

She said yes.

"Sisters is a great place," said Rooster Reynolds, a past champion at steer wrestling who does over 90 rodeos per year. "The livestock is excellent, the money is good, the town is smaller, but has some of the biggest crowds - it's a good rodeo. There is a lot of money added, which really lures the best talent. Then you've got the weather and the beauty. People can come out and stay at the campground and really get a lot of rodeo in. Sisters is where it's at."

"It's an exciting place to be," said Jason Jackson, one of the bull riders. "There are good crowds here in Sisters and good beer stands."

"It's a big rodeo with all the top-rated cowboys," said Charlot Beard, wife of the rodeo stock contractor. "This country is so pretty and the town is so nice. The committee is especially nice and I love shopping here."

"This is really where summer begins," said Phil Gardenhire, the horseback announcer. "People come from all over for the big party here in Sisters. They like the location, they like the tradition. This place assures the spectator that they'll see the best athletes in rodeo."