Rodeo entertainers win national awards

Wayne Brooks, Sisters Rodeo horse-mounted announcer for five years, was honored as Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Announcer of the Year at National Finals Rodeo On December 1 in Las Vegas.

The classy Texan walked onto the stage and said, "Believe it or not, I'm speechless."

In a conversation later, Brooks said, "When you're on a list with the rest of these guys, you don't write an acceptance speech. You know you aren't going to win." Brooks also won the award in 2005.

Brooks was quick to point out that it's the people behind the scenes who make success possible for the announcer, the stock contractors, timers and secretaries. "None of this is possible without the work of every rodeo association. It's like being a quarterback in football. You get all the attention, but it takes a whole team to make it work."

Brooks will be back for the 2011 Sisters Rodeo. The Brooks family loves coming to Sisters and say it is among their favorite rodeos. They also get a chance to spend time on the Oregon Coast every year when Sisters Rodeo ends.

Another winner was The One-Arm Bandit, John Payne, who was awarded the PRCA Dress Act of the Year. He has won nine times.

Payne entertained at Sisters in 2010 with his spectacular act of herding buffalo from the back of a mule onto the top of a stock trailer. During the rodeo parade, Payne rode his mule on the top of a moving trailer. He has performed in Sisters three times, with horses, steers and buffalo, in one of the most popular acts in 70 years of Sisters Rodeo.

Payne leaves with horses and buffalo for Oman on the Arabian Peninsula in January to perform for Arabian royalty. The million-dollar contract includes leaving horses and buffalo in the Middle East permanently.

Terrebonne resident Brenda Mays accepted the award for "Jethro," the horse she uses in competition, as Womens' Professional Barrel Racing Horse of the Year. Mays is a past national champion, a regular competitor in National Finals Rodeo and competes in Sisters every year. Jethro is owned by Mays' parents, Lynne and Frank Mays of Terrebonne.