News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
They don't call it "The Biggest Little Show in the World" for nothing.
Rodeo fans packed the Sisters Rodeo Arena stands in the thousands last weekend to watch some of the best cowboys and cowgirls in the business ply their skills. Click here for video footage from the rodeo.
They weren't disappointed. Working in perfect arena conditions, team ropers Chad Masters and Jade Corkill picked off the aggregate for a $3,152 paycheck and a new arena record of 9.9 seconds, burying the previous record of 10.5. Another pair, JoJo LeMond and Marty Becker, ticked off a 4.5-second time in Sunday's first go-round, itself a new arena record.
And Central Oregon favorite Bobby Mote of Culver took all-around honors, winning in bareback and team roping, the only contestant to hit the money in two events.
Other records were set as well. The rodeo's Tough Enough to Wear Pink program on Sunday raised $4,500 for cancer research, which, according to rodeo announcers, is a 20 percent jump from last year's fundraiser.
The money was raised through the auction of an autographed pink straw hat and a framed copy of this year's poster by Dan Rickards, signed by many rodeo contestants. The funds will go to St. Charles Medical Center's Sara Fischer Project and Susan G. Komen For the Cure, all dedicated to battling the scourge of breast cancer.
Kay Teufl of Sisters is a long-time Sisters Rodeo volunteer. Tough Enough To Wear Pink Day is a special one for her.
"In 2008 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and went through a year of treatment - chemotherapy, the whole works, surgery - and I am cured. Happy to say I'm cured," she said.
Teufl has been volunteering in concessions for 15 years and she loves the event and the people involved.
"The rodeo, I think, means America to me," she said. "I love the sport..."
For some the rodeo and the traditional Saturday morning parade were something new.
John Chapman was in town from Redwood City, California, visiting his daughter Debbie Willitts and her family. Decked out in full cowboy garb, Chapman marveled at the entries in the parade, particularly the vintage Corvettes.
"There must be $5 million worth of cars here," he said.
He and his wife Ann were looking forward to the rodeo performance on Saturday afternoon.
"This is the first rodeo we've been to in 30 years. We're city folks," Chapman said.
The parade alone was plenty of fun as far as he was concerned.
"Going to a parade like this'll add 10 years to your life," he said.
Cathy Williams enjoyed her turn as Grand Marshal of the Sisters Rodeo, but no one should expect the longtime volunteer to rest on her laurels.
"I do it because I love it," she told The Nugget.
The Sisters Rodeo remains the fattest purse on the circuit on the second weekend in June and it also remains the largest rodeo put on by a strictly volunteer committee.
Those factors combined with the devotion of many, many fans, bode well for continuing the rodeo's status as "The Biggest Little Show in the World."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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