Ellensburg Rodeo 2008

Ellensburg Rodeo & County Fair 2008: Past and Present 1

PA S T & P R E S E N TELLENSBURG RODEO & COUNTY FAIRPA S T & P R E S E N TELLENSBURG RODEO & COUNTY FAIRELLENSBURG RODEO & COUNTY FAIR

Labor Day Weekend 2008

2 Ellensburg Rodeo & County Fair 2008: Past and Present

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Daily Record 401 N. Main St.Ellensburg 98926(509) 925-1414

Publisher: Matt DavisonAdverting director: Tyler MillerManaging editor: Jeff RobinsonDesign editor: Jimmy AlfordContributing writers:Mike AllenDon GronningMike JohnstonChelsea KrotzerRyan ThompsonMary SwiftPhotographers: Don GronningJoe WhitesideAmanda Umberger

© 2008 Ellensburg Daily Record

Cover ohoto illustration by Jimmy Alford

Special thanks:Ellensburg Public Library for archive photosJohn FosterKittitas County Historical Musuem

About the Cover

Photo by John FosterBob Ragsdale in the calf roping competition during the 1972 Ellensburg Rodeo.

4 ……………………………………. Love for the rodeo spurs Michael Allen

6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 19, 40, 41 ……….. Rodeo timeline

10 …………………………………… Dr. H.E. Pfenning: A man with vision, energy for Ellensburg Rodeo

12 …………………………………… Ann Burkheimer Reed honored with Driver Family Award

16 …………………………………… When saddle bronc was king

18 …………………………………… Bronc buster recalls rodeo in its youth

20 …………………………………… Rodeo in music

21 …………………………………… Rodeo Lingo

22, 23, 26, 27, 36, 38, 39, 40 ……... Rodeo memories

24 …………………………………… Molly Morrow: Love at first click

28 …………………………………… Rodeo & Fair maps

30 …………………………………… Frontier Village gives kids and adults a taste of the old days

32 …………………………………… Schedule

34 …………………………………… Cowboy hats: A mark of style

35 …………………………………… Cowboy hats: Etiquette

43 …………………………………… A history of rodeo events

45 …………………………………… How to score rodeo events

52 …………………………………… Rodeo in film

54 …………………………………… Fair memories

Table of contents


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By MARY SWIFTstaff writer

Michael Allen never cared much for horseback riding.That didn’t keep him from falling in love with rodeo.Call it a passion learned at his father’s side.His father, Stewart Allen, was a Pocatello, Idaho, native, “a fallen

Mormon” who ended up marrying a girl who was — and is — a practicing Jew.

A modern businessman who lived in town but never forgot his rural roots, the elder Allen owned restaurants and an ice cream shop and did a stint as Ellensburg’s mayor.

“We always had a horse, often, two or three,” Allen recalls. “My Dad liked thoroughbreds and Arabs. He didn’t like quarter horses. Around Ellensburg, that’s treasonous.”

The elder Allen proudly rode with the Ellensburg Rodeo Posse, a precision drill team. His son fondly recalls the posse’s Friday night practices and the horse races, broomstick polo and camaraderie that followed.

Love for rodeo spurs Michael Allen

Continued on page 6Contributed


6 Ellensburg Rodeo & County Fair 2008: Past and Present6 Ellensburg Rodeo & County Fair 2008: Past and Present

Despite his father’s affection for riding, “I am the world’s worst horseback rider,” Allen says. “My Dad bred me a little pinto pony and I prob-ably rode that 30 times in 10 years. But I always loved the rodeo and we always attended as a family. I helped my Dad at the back ticket gate for rodeo night shows and when I was older at the ticket gate for the Posse parties. So I grew up around rodeo. In many ways, rodeo weekend is a sacred time for us, ranking second only to Christmas.”

As a student in Ellensburg, Allen picked up a fascination for magic, something he still pur-sues. After high school, he served a stint in Viet-nam with the Marine Corps later worked as a towboat deckhand, oil tanker man and cook on the Upper and Lower Mississippi. Captivated by history, he earned a bachelor’s degree at Central Washington University, a master’s degree in history from the University of Montana, and a doctorate at the University of Washington, where he now is a professor of history and American studies.

While working on his master’s he spent his summers taking Greyhound to all 50 states and six Canadian provinces and he still spends time visiting and writing about the history of the Mississippi River Valley, an area that has long fascinated him.

“Why? Maybe because I grew up in a semi-arid part of the state and always yearned for lush, deciduous forest, fireflies and turtles and gators,” says Allen, who lives in Tacoma but also has a home and apartment in Ellensburg and plans to retire here.

Despite his wanderings, he never got so far from home that he lost his love — or respect — for the rodeo. Each year, rodeo brings him back

along with his three children.In 1997, Allen helped found the Ellensburg

Rodeo Hall of Fame. He served seven years as board president and is one of three historians who serve on the board.

In 1998, University of Nevada Press published his book, “Rodeo Cowboys in the North Ameri-can Imagination,” a study of the evolution of the myth of the rodeo cowboy and how that myth has impacted popular culture.

It was research on the book that planted the idea for the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame.

“In the mid-1990s I was traveling around to various research archives — Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and the Pend-leton Roundup Hall of Fame — and it occurred to me we could do this in Ellensburg,” he says. “Some of the greatest cowboys and cowgirls in the history of rodeo passed through Ellensburg from 1923 to 1997.”

He spoke to Joel Smith and Rick Cole, mem-bers of the rodeo board, about the idea.

“The 75th anniversary of the rodeo in 1997 created ‘the perfect storm’ and it happened,” he says. “There are 55 inductees so far. This year is our 11th induction.”

Jack Wallace, a member of the Hall of Fame board, calls Allen “the heart and soul of the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame.”

It’s praise echoed by 90-year-old Bertha Morri-son, also a member of the Hall of Fame board.

“If it weren’t for Mike, we wouldn’t have a Hall of Fame,” she says. “We’re very proud of it. He’s the founder and the one who keeps it going.”

Rodeo, Allen says, is important because it’s much more than just entertainment.

“Rodeo is a folkway because it’s mostly

Continued on page 8

Ellensburg Rodeo through the years

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1923

Continued on page 8

‘He’s the founder and the one who keeps it going.’

Early 1920s — At least two Kittitas County ranches, including the Ferguson ranch, were staging impromptu competitions called Sunday rodeos. These were the beginnings what would become the Ellensburg Rodeo.

1923 — First Ellensburg Rodeo held Sept. 13-15, with 17 events. Steer wrestling was scratched because of a letter writ-ing campaign charging it “appears to be as hard on the steer as it does the man ...”


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based on actual ranch skills — ‘workways’ as folklor-ists call them,” he says. “Calf and steer roping and saddle bronc riding are historic ranch skills.” (That’s not true of bull riding, he says.)

“Rodeos literally re-enact the workways of the cattle frontier. The rodeo viewer can sit back and watch how the American cowboys did their jobs and tamed the American West, making the way for civilization. We can literally watch our country’s history re-enacted in the arena. I know no other sport with that kind of mythic power.”

Much of Allen’s own life experience is framed in some way by rodeo. That includes his father’s death, an event he describes at the end of the introduction to “Rodeo Cowboys in the North American Tradition”.

“On Labor Day, Sept. 7, 1992,” he wrote, “at approxi-mately 4 p.m., rodeo cowboys received their cham-pionship buckles in the Ellensburg Rodeo arena. In doing this they carried on a local folk tradition of more than seventy-five years duration. At a nursing home a few blocks away, my dad died after a long illness. This book is dedicated to his memory.”


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1924

1929

1924 — The second rodeo had three times the attendance of fi rst rodeo, with sellout crowds over three performances, prizes and prize money higher than the year before. Even the fi rst man bucked off won a hat.

1929 — Admission prices during the Depression year were $1 per family, kids’ admission was 25 cents. The rodeo animals arrived by train, providing plenty of entertainment for local youngsters who fl ocked to the train to watch.

1930 — The dates for rodeo was moved ahead a week to the Labor Day weekend.

1933 — Steer wrestling had been reinstated after that fi rst year and was won by Shaniko Red, with a time of 67 seconds on three steers. Nobody knew his real name.

1936 — The 14th year for the event saw some of the biggest crowds to date, with 30,000 people attending the three performances.

1939 — Police were kept busy, it was reported, with two of the city’s “red light” houses, Mattie’s and The Cadwell charged with selling liquor with-out a license. They paid $350 in forfeited bail, the weekly newspaper “The Capital,” reported.

1940 — Bull riding was made an offi cial event, although steers were often used. Dick Griffi th won the event that year.

1942-’44 — Rodeo cancelled because of World War II.

1945 — Rodeo returned to Ellensburg, with $57,457 in ticket sales.

1946 — Bids were sought

1930

1933

1936

1939

1940

’42-’44

1945

1946Continued on page 10

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By MICHAEL ALLENFor the Daily Record

Editor’s note: This first appeared in a 1997 Daily Record special publication.

Dr. H.E. Pfenning conceived, organized and produced the first Ellensburg Rodeo in 1923. Although many community members share responsibility for the first Ellensburg Rodeo, Pfen-ning’s vision, organizational skills and hard work loom large in its history.

Trained in large-animal veterinary medicine, H.E. “Doc” Pfenning was an integral member of the 1920s Ellensburg ranching and cowboy community. Pfenning visited the roundups and “Sunday Rodeos” held in the Kittitas Valley and he dreamed of one day staging a large-scale “Wild West Show” in the town of Ellensburg. When other community members expressed an interest in this plan, Pfenning led the organizing commit-tee. He traveled to Pendleton, Ore., to observe the staging of its famed Roundup. This background, combined with Pfenning’s wide exposure to cattle roundups and rodeos and wild west shows, took form in his program for the 1923 Ellensburg Rodeo.

The Sept. 13-15, 1923, Ellensburg Rodeo fea-tured 18 major events advertised as the “greatest Wild West Roundup in the State.” Valley residents remembered its myriad components. Chalmer Cobain described the gala grand entry parade,

Dr. H.E. Pfenning:A Man with vision, energy for

Ellensburg Rodeo

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1947

1950

1947 — Calf roping replaced bronc riding as the popular county event, as competitors got older. A county roping club was established, with summer-long competitions held to determine who would com-pete during the Ellensburg Rodeo.

1950 — Jim Shoulders, later to be known as rodeo’s Babe Ruth for his accomplishments in the arena, competed at Ellensburg for the fi rst time, splitting fi rst in the bull riding.


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bucking broncs, calf roping, relays, bulldogging, and special Indian horse racing.

Cobain said the 1923 contestants were “real cowboys” not “these drug-store cowboys!” They competed in “wild horse races (and) chariot races.”

Howard Thomas remembered the first rodeo as “a good one” and Mrs. Lilian Pope agreed, noting “You knew pretty much everybody that was rid-ing in it ... it really made a difference because it was more of a local show.” The Ellensburg Record was equally complimentary, reporting that the rodeo’s “Riders are Skillful and the Horses and Steers are Wild!”

By all accounts, Doc Pfenning and his committee had done a superb job.

In addition to organizing and pro-ducing the rodeo, Doc Pfenning also organized the selection and corona-tion of the rodeo royalty and negoti-ated the historic annual participation of the Yakama Indian Nation in the Ellensburg Rodeo. After doing all of this, Pfenning then proceeded to announce the show.

Microphones and public address systems were unheard of in 1920s Ellensburg. Using only a megaphone in Ellensburg’s large new arena, Pfen-ning’s voice boomed out and over the crowd of approximately 2,500.

Moreover, Pfenning organized and produced the first Ellensburg Rodeo parade. Locals remember him as a leader of that parade, decked out in

Western duds astride his black horse Midnight.

The next year Pfenning pressed local business people and towns-men to “dress western” for the rodeo, sporting hats, boots, kerchiefs and snap button Western shirts. He believed this “costuming” would please the tourists from Seattle and make the Ellensburg Rodeo even more popular.

After more than two years of immense labor, Dr. H.E. Pfenning stepped down as producer of the Ellensburg Rodeo in 1925. He left a legacy that has endured.

He was inducted into the Ellens-burg Rodeo Hall of Fame’s inaugural class of inductees in 1997.

1951

1952

1951 — Another rodeo legend, defending world champion saddle bronc rider Casey Tibbs, was thrown for the fi rst time at Ellensburg.

1952 — The fi rst Rodeo Kickoff Breakfast was held two weeks before the rodeo. Free to the public, it attracted 2,500 people for pancakes and sausages.

1953 — Faced with the closure of Snoqualmie Pass for road repairs, the rodeo experienced a drop in attendance and lost money.

1953



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By MIKE JOHNSTONsenior writer

Ask Ann Burkheimer Reed about how her life crosses paths with the Ellensburg Rodeo. Her memories will come galloping in just like the rodeo’s grand entry that she took part in years ago.

She remembers traveling with her family as a little kid from the West Side to the Ellensburg Rodeo, being curb-side to enjoy the Saturday morning rodeo parade and how women, including her mother, wore flowers in their cowboy hats.

Reed’s memories of the rodeo don’t stop there — and that’s the reason Reed, now 67 and living near Poulsbo, has been honored with the 2008 Driver Family Memorial Award.

Her past and present volun-teer work for the Ellensburg Rodeo, and her continued sup-port of and commitment to the rodeo, are reflected in the award.

Some of that involvement: serving as an Ellensburg Rodeo princess, demonstrating cut-ting horse skills during rodeo performances, riding with the

Driver Family Memorial AwardThe annual Driver Family Memorial Award is given each

year to an individual who has made a signi� cant contribution to the Ellensburg Rodeo, the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame or associated rodeo activities.

In past years Scott and Martha Driver and Scott’s cousin,

Pam Driver Gunderson, have presented the award to the recipient: a sterling silver and gold belt buckle depicting Lo Driver’s horse while it reared on its hind legs as Lo was de-livering to the Yakima airport an invitation to the Ellensburg Rodeo going to President Harry Truman.

Her heart’s at the rodeo

Ann Burkheimer Reed honored with Driver Family Award


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local Wranglerettes equestrian drill team, winning a regional cutting horse championship, and being one of the founding members of the rodeo-supporting Gold Buckle Club.

In addition, she started and then organized for 15 straight years the popular Gold Buckle Club party on Sunday night of rodeo weekend, an event that grew in popularity to the point where it had to be limited to 1,000 people.

“I guess you could say it’s kind of like a big reunion of the Ellensburg Rodeo family,” Reed said about the annual party at the Springwood Ranch Party Barn. “You can run into old friends there and turn around and talk to rodeo cowboys and rodeo clowns.”

Western rootsReed’s parents, John and Frances

Burkheimer, purchased the Diamond Bar Ranch west of Thorp off Killmore Road in the late 1940s. At the time John worked as a real estate developer in Seattle and the family lived in a rural home site near Bellevue.

John later built a home on the ranch, and Reed remembers the whole family moving to the Kittitas Valley in 1950 when she was 9 years old.

Her life in the West had begun.“It was at this time I began to

appreciate the values and all that country living had to offer,” Reed said, “especially the enjoyment I gained from learning my way around a ranch and livestock.

“I loved the simplicity and the hon-esty of the Western way of life.”

Reed’s father commuted two days a week to Seattle for work, but the rest of the time was filled with ranch work

and raising a family that included Reed, an older sister and two younger brothers.

John began involving himself in cutting horse competition as he made friendships with Ellensburg Rodeo Posse and Rodeo Board members Lo and Art Driver and Tex Taliaferro. John later served on the rodeo board.

Deep rodeo rootsIn the meantime, Reed took to

the horse, joining the Wranglerettes equestrian team at 14 and learning how to compete in cow cutting along-side her father and the Driver broth-ers.

With the women’s mounted drill team she rode in parades around the state, performed in the rodeo’s grand entry and during the rodeo itself.

“It was thrilling to ride in the rodeo,” she said.

Reed won a Northwest reserve cow cutting championship as a novice in 1958, served as an Ellensburg Rodeo princess in 1959 and performed cut-ting horse demonstrations during rodeo performances.

Reed graduated from Ellensburg High School in 1959, attended col-lege in Colorado, worked 10 years as a flight attendant for United Airlines and married in 1969 to Frank Reed, a U.S. Navy master chief.

She moved with Frank to different duty stations throughout the country, yet through the years always tried to not miss an Ellensburg Rodeo.

After Frank retired from the Navy and from his work as a civilian employee at the Trident submarine base at Bangor, the family kept the tradition of attending the rodeo.

Past award recipients2000 — Rex Rice2001 — Bertha Morrison2002 — Joel Smith2003 — Mary McManamy Seubert2004 — Oscar Berger2005 — Molly Morrow2006 — Gordon Wollen2007 — Ken MacRae

In her own words ...“The commitment and dedication

that the Driver family, the Ellens-burg Rodeo Board and the city of Ellensburg provides (to) the local community, rodeo participants and the citizens of Kittitas Valley is truly inspirational and is representative of the value system that I grew up with in the Kittitas Valley.

“In receiving this award, I am ex-tremely honored to be included with the previous Driver award recipients.

“The Ellensburg Rodeo is a com-munity and national event that I have always been proud of and support. I know that as a long-time Ellens-burg Rodeo supporter, Rodeo Board member and Driver family friend, my father would be as proud as I am of my receiving the Driver award.”

— Ann Burkheimer Reed.



Helping the clubAnn and Frank Reed were some of

the first to join the Gold Buckle Club, and in 1993 Ann organized the club’s first party at the Burkheimer family ranch near Thorp, reflecting a long tradition of rodeo parties conducted in past years.

After the third party at the ranch, it was clear the ranch was too small to contain it. Ann remembers it moved one year to the Steve Lathrop prop-erty but then headed for the Spring-wood Ranch party barn.

Former Ellensburg Rodeo Board

member Scott Repp, whose idea it was to start the Gold Buckle Club, said Ann’s volunteer work was instrumental in helping get the club off the ground and attracting new members.

Repp remembers Ann’s brother, Bob Burkheimer, was one of the first four who joined the club.

“Ann was just a great worker bee for all those years,” Repp said. “Most came to the rodeo and the party to enjoy the events, Ann came to work.

“She, literally, did just about every-thing to make that party a success; she even did hand-made invitations.”

The club’s dues and other club donations helped increase the rodeo’s purse which, in turn, attract-ed quality cowboy competitors to the rodeo. The club’s support also is key in paying for improvements and new seating in the rodeo arena.

Ann, after 15 years organizing the party, handed over the event’s orga-nization to the staff of the Ellensburg Rodeo Ticket Office.

“Although I live on the West Side, my roots were always more in the Kittitas Valley, and they still are,” Ann said. “My heart’s with the Ellensburg Rodeo.”

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1964


1960 — Singing cowboy star Gene Autry rode in the Ellensburg Rodeo opening day parade Sept. 3 with a posse of youngsters from the Flying Horseshoe Ranch in Cle Elum.

1964 — More than 11,000 people were in the stands for the Sunday performance, the largest crowd yet.

1965 — Saturday rodeo tickets cost $3 for the covered grandstand, or $2 for uncovered. The same week at Sigman Food Stores, eggs were 89 cents for two dozen and bananas were eight pounds for $1.

1960

1965


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By DON GRONNINGstaff writer

When the Ellensburg Rodeo holds its Blowout Bronc Riding event on Sunday, Aug. 31 it will be paying hom-age to a time when saddle bronc rid-ing was the premier rodeo event.

In the early days of rodeo, almost every community celebration in the West had a saddle bronc riding con-test.

In those days, bronc riding was a lit-tle more rugged. There were no buck-ing chutes, for instance. The bronc was snubbed to another saddle horse and saddled. The rider stepped aboard and the horse was turned loose.

There were no 8-second whistles in those days. Riders rode until the judges were “satisfied.” Basically that meant until the bronc quit bucking.

The process became more refined over the years. Rodeos started using bucking chutes. Rides went for a set amount of time — 10 seconds at first, later changed to 8 seconds.

But the essential contest remained the same — a rider trying to stay aboard a horse that doesn’t want to be ridden. So what makes a good buck-ing horse?

“A lot of things,” says Rod Hay, a veteran bronc rider and past Canadi-an champ who has won more than $2 million riding saddle broncs. “Mostly it’s their personality. They have to have the will to get a guy off their back.”

Frank Beard of Ellensburg has been around bucking horses most of his life. He owned and operated Beard Rodeos for more than 20 years, supplying bucking stock to rodeos around the country, including the Ellensburg Rodeo and the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. He says crowds like to see horses that get in the air and buck.

“The crowd likes to see something that has some swoops,” he says. “Peo-ple like to see someone fall off once in a while.”

Shane Franklin, a Canadian stock contractor, says he likes his bucking horses to be unruly.

“I like one that’s not broke,” he said.

“One that creates a little excitement.”He says crowds perk up when they

hear the word “wild” and that’s how he describes his broncs.

“They’re not calm, they’re not halter broke,” he says. He runs about 600 horses on his Alberta ranch. They aren’t handled until they’re about 6 years old.

Ellensburg has seen many great horses over the years, broncs like Snake, War Paint and Miss Klamath.

Bud King’s Big Bend Rodeo Compa-ny used to supply horses to the Ellens-burg Rodeo in the 1960s. King owned Trails End, the 1959 Bucking Horse of the Year and a recent inductee into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. He says a horse’s attitude is the key to whether it makes a good bronc.

“It takes the right temperament,” King says. Trails End had that temper-ament. He was supposed to be a pack-horse, but he never took to it. Eventu-ally he ended up in a rodeo string and the rest is history.

But horses like Trails End, that don’t come out of a bucking horse breeding program, are becoming the minor-ity. Most contractors breed their own

bucking horses now. There’s a reason for that.

“I remember one time Ed Ring and myself went to Canada and bought a truckload of draft horses,” said King. “We thought we had some good ones.”

But only two of the 30 horses bucked and the only one that made it into the rodeo string was a saddle horse thrown in at the last minute to fill out the truckload.

“You never know what makes them buck,” said King.

Doug Vold made the highest scored bronc ride ever in 1979. His score of 95 has been tied but not broken. Vold comes from a rodeo family and is now in the business of raising bucking horses.

He says horses that are bred to buck are more likely to continue bucking after the first time or two.

“Those spoiled saddle horses don’t stay hooked too long,” says Vold. And the life of a modern bucking horse is a little more complicated than in the old days. Indoor arenas, lights and crowds all affect how they perform.

When saddle bronc was king

Don Gronning ⁄ Daily Record

Frank Beard with one of his colts that will one day be a saddle bronc.



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“It takes a long time to get ’em locked in,” says Vold.

But once a horse has established itself as a bucker, it can perform for decades.

“Horses can buck in the big leagues up to about 20 or so,” says Franklin, whose saddle bronc, Kingsway Skoal, was featured on a Canadian postage stamp.

Kingsway is also being cloned, with a colt due shortly, says Franklin.

Bucking horses, no matter how can-tankerous, are beloved by cowboys. When the famous bronc Midnight died in 1936, more than 300 people attended the funeral, a good many of them cowboys who had been bucked off the great horse, which had bucked at Ellensburg.

Midnight was inducted into the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame, as well as into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

The late Dick Griffith was a rodeo contestant who will be inducted into the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame this year. His words about Midnight are inscribed on the horse’s gravestone and capture some of the affection cowboys hold for good bucking horses.

“Under this sod lies a great bucking hoss

There never lived a cowboy he couldn’t toss

His name was midnight, his coal as black as coal

If there is a hoss-heaven, please God, rest his soul”

Kittitas County Historical Museum


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> >>> >> >> >>> Then > >> Then >> >> Then > >> >> >> Then > >>> >> COME BACK > >> >> >> COME BACK > >> >> >> >> >> >> >HIS FALL >> >HIS FALL >> >> HIS FALL> >> >> >> HIS FALL> >>By W.S. WickermanFor the Daily Record

Editor’s note: The article was first published in the 1972 Daily Record.

Nobody who ever rode a head of stock remembers what happened on the first one. Whether you or whether it or hit the deck, it is a blur of violent motion and the mind is not condi-tioned to react.

A boxer calls it timing and he knows not only how much effort it takes to speed the reaction time but he will also soon learn that a fine edge can be lost in just a few days.

Long ago during the 1920 era some of us kids-would-be-bronc-stompers used to spend Sundays running wild horses in the Pocket. Occasionally we got lucky and ran in a bunch in an old corral.

The idea then was to front foot ’em (let a horse run by and throw a loop

in front so he’d put his feet in it), bring him down and set on his head. We had a heavy old halter, which we would fit on and then pull the cinch through and tighten on a saddle.

We took turns getting up with them.Most wouldn’t buck very hard but

once in a while there would be there would be one that could turn it on and we’ve have the bruises to prove it.

In looking back from this vantage point it probably was a miracle that all we got was some sore places — we might have been crippled up on those wild ones. If we didn’t buck off, we usually pulled off on the corral fence.

It was all good clean fun and we usually would heal up in a week or so. But, while we didn’t know it, we were developing our timing.

The year 1926 was my first try at the Ellensburg Rodeo. I had ridden in some smaller shows and in the week-end rodeo at Fergusons’ at the old home place on what is now the Fergu-son Road.

The following January was cold and snowy, and the Navy looked attractive, so at the ripe old age of 15 I joined up. Being six feet and 164 pounds, they believed me when I said I was 19.

Boot camp and a trade school, plus my first ship the tanker, U.S.S. Ram-papo and uncounted trips through the Panama Canal took up 1927. The Ramapo during this time did a speed run and with the tail wind and the movie screen rigged she did a rousing 10 knots — empty. She also sailed into a Carribean hurricane which carried away about everything including the catwalk, the after gun circle, complete with a 5-inch gun, the deck load and the spud locker.

Because the ship had been under water for two days we all put in for submarine pay at Quantanama.

All good things come to him who waits and in the fall of ’28 we got orders for Bremerton. It was rodeo time back in Ellensburg and a homesick sailor

Rider risked court marshall to rodeo


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just wanted to see, smell and feel a horse again. Unfortunately, the execu-tive officer didn’t understand about such things and denied a request for a short leave. So an AOL (absent over leave) gob signed up to ride in the 1928 Rodeo not knowing whether the stock would be tougher than the court mar-tial waiting back on the ship.

In those days bareback riding was not considered a competitive event and we rode for “mount money” on either horses or bulls. We got $2.50 out of the chute and $5 “across the

line,” a white line about 60 feet out. Sometimes a spinner would stay inside the line and the pay would still be $2.50. We rode everything with a loose rope and cowbell.

At the show that year was a brown mare that piled some good boys the first two days. I think it was Lou Rich-ards, then arena director, who conned me into sittin’ on that mare the last day. She had a nasty way of chopping hard for 4 or 5 jumps, then planting her feet and changing directions. I had it all figured out on how to ride her.

The only problem was my timing and when she stopped I was still two jumps behind and did a very ungraceful handstand as she changed direction.

An enterprising photographer caught it right there.

The Navy doled out justice in the form of three days bread and water plus a healthy fine upon my return, which didn’t dim the warm feeling left by the show. After the Navy there were many more rodeos in various places, but 1928 sort of stands out in my memory.


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1971 — Ellensburg photographer John Foster won a national award for his photo of Larry Mahan being dragged by a bareback horse while pickup man Doug Vold leaped from his horse to free Mahan. Mahan ended up with a broken leg.

1972 — The Automobile Club of Washington ran 10 buses from Seattle area for the Saturday parade, rodeo and barbecue at Stuart Anderson’s Black Angus Ranch. Attendance was up, with $72,108 in revenue.



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By RYAN THOMPSONstaff intern

Rodeo-inspired songs, like rodeos themselves, are brash, confidant expressions of individuality and the battle for success, whether against cattle, other cow-boys, or for a woman’s heart. Here are just a few of the tunes that remind us why we put on spurs in the first place:

It just sounds like ... rodeo

“Bullrider” by Johnny Cash Cash summarizes bull riding in

three simple lines, “Live fast, die young, bull rider,” in his classic song about rodeo lifestyle. Cash reminds us that bull riding is neither glamor-ous nor easy by singing with the honesty that only Cash could.

“Rodeo” by Larry Bastian/Garth Brooks Popularized in the ‘90s by Brooks’

cover, Bastian’s tune expresses both the thrill of the rodeo and heartbreak as he tells the tale of a cowboy torn between a woman and the rodeo. Although the cowboy’s girl would “give half of Texas” to hold him, rodeo com-petition keeps the cowboy captive.

“I can still make Cheyenne” by George Strait

Like Bastian’s “Rodeo,” “I can still make Cheyenne” expresses the di� culties of keeping love alive for a cowboy. In Strait’s song the wife never knows if he will survive the rodeo. The pressure becomes too much, and she � nds a new lover who “sure ain’t no Rodeo man.”

“He rides the wild horses” by Chris LeDoux

A veteran of rodeo competition himself, LeDoux wrote many songs about rodeos and cowboys, but this tune stands out above the herd. The song paints a picture of a drifting cowboy whose “spirit’s as wild as the horses he rides.”

“Bandito Gold” by Red Steagall This is truly an epic song, tell-

ing the tale of a boy and his horse, named Bandito Gold. The boy’s father eventually sells Bandito Gold, and the song moves throughout boy’s life. Now an adult, he must face his old horse at a rodeo, establish-ing the rodeo as a metaphor for the twists and turns of life.

“Chestnut Mare” by The Byrds Penned by Roger McGuinn,

“Chestnut Mare” tackled the subject of bronco taming in a country-rock style, bringing country music themes to hippie culture. Although country purists may have disliked the tune it depicted the subject as e� ectively as any country song.

“The Cowboy in the Continental Suit” by Marty Robbins

Robbins’ classic tune speaks of a cowboy who was mocked for dress-ing in a � ne suit, but awed his peers with his bull riding skills. The mysteri-ous cowboy conquers a bull named “The Brute,” teaching his fellow riders to “never judge by what they wear.”


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Added money — The purse put up by the rodeo that is added to the contestant’s entry fees to make up the total prize money. All PRCA-sanctioned rodeos have added money.

Average — At rodeos with more than one go-round, contestants earn money for each go and those with the best total score or time win additional money.

Go-round — One round of competi-tion. Rodeo events may have several go-rounds.

No time — Failure to qualify during timed events that is signaled by the flagman by waving the flag side to side.

Bail out — When a horse rears up on its hind legs as it leaves the chute.

Barrel man — Clown in barrel during the bull-riding

Buford or pup — An easy animal to compete on in the timed events.

Dally — A turn of the end of the rope

around the saddle horn after the animal is caught.

Dink — A bull or horse that doesn’t buck hard enough for the cowboy to get a good score.

Fading — A bull that spins and moves in the direction of his spin.

Freight trained — When someone is run over by an animal traveling at top speed.

Headhunter — A bull that is constantly looking for someone to charge.

Out the back door — When a rider is thrown off the hind end of the animal.

Pantyhosed — When the heeler catches a steer with the rope going around the animal’s flank, the roper is said to have pantyhosed the steer.

Pickup man — A mounted cowboy who assists contestants dismount during bareback and saddle bronc riding.

Piggin’ string — A small, soft rope, 6-feet long, used by tie-down ropers to tie the

animal’s feet.

Putting the boots to one — Spurring during a bull ride. It’s not required but it may earn extra points for the rider.

Sucks back — When a bucking animal suddenly plants its feet and sucks backward, pitching the riders over the head.

Sunfisher — The animal twists his body in the air so that daylight shines on his belly.

Timers — In each timed event: tie-down roping, steer wrestling, team roping and barrel racing, there are two timers who must agree on the time made by each contestant.

Well — The center of the spin. Riders may get into the well and not be able to regain balance, which creates a dangerous area for dismount.

Whipped down — Describes a rider that his jerked forward on the bull and his face smashes into the animal’s head.

Lingo: Know your cowboy talk


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Rodeo memoriesBy DON GRONNINGstaff writer

Kittitas County people have been an integral part of the Ellensburg Rodeo since it started. Both in county roping contests and major Professional Rodeo Cowboy Associa-tion events, Ellensburg contestants have won their share.

We talked to as many riders, ropers and photographers as we could. Here are some of their memories from the Ellensburg Rodeo.

“Ellensburg has always been one of my favorite rodeos. Brent Minor and I won the state high school team roping champi-onship three times in a row and I graduated from Ellensburg High School, so more than winning, I enjoy coming back and seeing my friends. It’s a real special time for me. “

ALLEN BACH, FOUR TIME WORLD CHAMPION TEAM ROPER

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Rodeo memories

“I rode at Ellensburg three times, I think. I got bucked off two and turned down a re-ride on another because I didn’t want to get on the re-ride bull, which had jerked me down and broke my nose at a rodeo in Idaho the year before. I think I entered Ellensburg more than that but turned out a couple times and doctor released after having surgery one year.

“My most vivid memory, though, was of the wild cow milking. They say bull riders are tough, and they are, but I watched Pat Nogle get off his horse and bend down to pick something up after he got messed up in a dally in the cow milking. He tried to pick it up with his right hand, but couldn’t, so he reached down with his left hand. It turned out he had cut off his thumb in the dally and was reaching down to pick it up. He got it, remounted and loped out of the arena. That’s a tough guy.”

DAILY RECORD REPORTER DON GRONNING,COMPETED IN THE BULL RIDING IN THE EARLY 1980S


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Official Ellensburg Rodeo Royal Court photographer Molly Morrow began her involvement in art with pottery. But when she discovered photography, it was love at first sight.

“When a photo comes together … that’s like gold,” Morrow said. “I just really enjoyed it.”

Morrow, 56, became involved with photography through a photo silk screening class she took with pro-fessor John Agars during her time as a broad area art major at Central Washington University, she said. She began doing more photography, and her husband Joe built her a studio in 1994. Morrow began taking photos throughout the Kittitas Valley, and it didn’t take Ellensburg residents long to discover her work.

“People wanted me to take family photos, wedding photos,” Morrow said. “In Ellensburg you get to do everything. I really grew as a photog-rapher.”

Morrow found that her background in art and pottery also applied to photography.

“You use art skills like paying attention to texture and composition in photography,” Morrow said.

She now takes a variety of photog-raphy jobs in Ellensburg, working from her studio downtown. However, Western photos are Morrow’s favor-ite.

“I’ve just always loved horses and

livestock,” Morrow said. “The West-ern part of what I do was always a big deal to me.”

That love of Western photography naturally led Morrow into rodeo photography, she said. She works for both the Ellensburg Rodeo and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), shooting rodeos throughout the country.

“I got my first horse in second grade … to do what I do now is a dream come true,” Morrow said.

Morrow’s appreciation for the cow-boy lifestyle is obvious from her pho-tography skills.

“I think Molly really understands the Old West and captures it in her

Morrow prepares for another year of rodeo photography

Molly Morrow: love at � rst Click


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photos,” said Joella Oldfield, director of the Fred Oldfield Western Heri-tage Center in Tacoma.

Oldfield knows Morrow’s skill from first-hand experience. Morrow has photographed Oldfield’s father, renowned Western artist Fred Old-field, for magazines, news articles and other media, and has also done photos of his artwork.

“Molly is truly an artist, “ Oldfield said. “She gets a depth of feeling in her photography that not many people can.”

Ellensburg resident and retired rodeo stock contractor Frank Beard agreed that Morrow has a gift for photography.

“She has a knack for getting pictures of bucking horses at the rodeo,” Beard said. “There’s a lot of action in her photos.”

Beard said Morrow has taken many photos of his stock.

“It’s quite a big deal for the valley to have someone with her talent,” he said.

The thrill of taking that next great photo is the drive behind Morrow’s work, she said.

“Right before you trip the shut-

ter … it’s like a challenge,” Morrow said. “There’s always a real sweet moment right before you shoot, like with a sunset, right when the light is perfect.”

On top of her numerous other projects, Morrow began shooting photos for Northwest Magazine in February 2008. Morrow’s daughter, 29-year-old daughter Annie Alley, also writes for the magazine, and Morrow has shot photos for some of her articles, she said.

“Working with Annie is a dream come true,” Morrow said. “It’s really fun to go out on new assignments.”

Morrow’s future photography plans outside of the professional world also involve her family.

“One of the biggest things for me to look forward to is photographing my grandson as he grows up,” Mor-row said.

Whatever projects lie in Morrow’s future, it’s a safe bet that her work will stay close to the rodeo.

“I just love the whole thing. It’s an exciting time,” Morrow said. “Ellens-burg has a wonderful rodeo. I’m proud to be a part of it.”


Rodeo memories“We, as a family have had several memorable moments with the Ellensburg Rodeo over the years. The two that really stand out for us is that we were professional P.R.C.A. trick riders and it seems that most local rodeos would not hire local talent especially a rodeo the size of Ellensburg, as they did and still do, pride themselves on having the top P.R.C.A. entertainers perform at their performances. We had a neighbor that was serving on the rodeo board at that time and he had the privi-lege of seeing us perform for a small rodeo, he took it back to the board and they asked us to perform for the 1971 Ellens-burg Rodeo performances. We did and all went well, in fact, we were asked back three additional years after that. This was very memorable as we felt it would never happen for us.

The second memory also involves trick riding however, this time it was our 9-year-old son Chad. He was one of the youngest professional trick riders in the P.R.C.A. and he was asked to fill a vacancy, due to one of the “Flying Cossacks” troupe members getting injured at a prior rodeo. Not only did he get to work Ellensburg but several other rodeos that year. He was also signed to a work the rodeo a couple of years later with Vickie Tyer and the “All-American Trick-Riders.”

As the results we have had the privilege of meeting and knowing many of the top acts ever in professional rodeo such as Montie Montana and his family, Connie Griffith, Corinne Williams, John Payne, the One-Armed Bandit, the Flying Cossacks, Francisco Zamorro, Max Reynolds, Peggy Minor Hunt, Phil Gardenhire, Justin McKee, and Flint Rasmussen.

As a 30-plus year member of the Ellensburg Rodeo Posse and the current Drill Master, we as a group have had many, too numerous to count memories from events and their winners, getting to know and work with the very cream of the crop of cowboy and cowgirl contestants, the special dedication of performances to many of our close friends and fallen comrades, and the many special stand out volunteers/cowboy and cowgirl contestants and their animals that have been inducted into the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame.”

OSCAR AND BEVERLY BERGER, PROFESSIONAL TRICK RIDERS WHO PERFORMED AT ELLENSBURG

“Although, I went to the short go several times, I never did place in the average. But, what a thrill it was to rope against some of the best ropers in the world, on Monday, in front of those Ellensburg Rodeo fans.

“Probably, my biggest thrill was when I roped the fastest calf of the performance, when Coca-Cola was giving away $100 for such a feat. At the end of the event, the (recipient) circled the arena. It was pretty neat riding around that arena at your hometown rodeo.

“In 1991, I was 10.6 seconds on my second calf and placed in that go-round. I never thought I would be roping against those

guys when I was 50 years old. I was 51 at the time.” JACK WALLACE,

TIE DOWN ROPER WHO COMPETED MANY TIMES AT ELLENSBURG Cont

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Oscar Berger

Beverly Berger


“From the get go, I was a horse crazy girl and when I got my first horse at age eight I was instantly captivated by the speed, adrena-line and excitement of the sport of rodeo. It didn’t take long before I was roping, barrel racing and goat tying in junior rodeos, high school rodeos and I just finished up (my fourth) season with the Central Washington University college rodeo team.

“I have seen a lot and competed in a lot of rodeos across the United States and I must say that the Ellensburg Rodeo is a top-notch production and one of my favorites to watch. There is so much history behind the rodeo and all the rodeo ‘greats’ have competed at Ellensburg. I am fortunate enough this year to have the opportunity to compete in the well-known County Roping competition during the rodeo in breakaway roping and I hope to make it to the finals on Monday where with the best of the best will be dueling in the dirt!

“In the next few years I want to become a Women’s Profes-sional Rodeo Association member and get the chance to compete and win the barrel racing competition at the Ellens-burg rodeo.

“The week prior to the Ellensburg Rodeo this year, I will be competing in the Miss Rodeo Washington pageant. The new Miss Rodeo Washington is crowned at the Friday night perfor-mance of the rodeo and I hope this is my year to win the title. The Ellensburg rodeo is an event I look forward to each and every year and I hope to be able to watch and compete in this famous rodeo for many more years to come.”

CHERYL BROWN

ROPER AND RODEO QUEEN CONTESTANT, DAILY RECORD AD REP.

“It was a pretty good rodeo to me. I first won money in 1975 (calf roping) and the last time I won money was in 1994 (calf roping, steer wrestling).“Something that sticks out in my mind is all the hard work that the committee members and the volunteers do. The

committee members get a little recognition but the volunteers work hard just for the satisfaction of helping out at the rodeo. The rodeo wouldn’t happen without them.

“And, as someone who rodeoed in other states, there is a feeling of pride knowing that your hometown rodeo is one of the best in the world. It really is a class act.”

SAM KAYSER, COMPETED MORE THAN 20 YEARS

“One of the most memorable times was when I broke the arena record (3.8 seconds, in the steer wrestling in 1977). Another time was when Sam (Kayser) and I made the finals together. We didn’t place in the average but it was neat that both of us made the short round. I must have won three or four go-rounds here over the years but never could win the average.”

J.P. ROAN,STEER WRESTLER

“I’m 93 years old, so I don’t remember too well. But I used to rodeo quite a bit. I tried all the events but I liked calf roping and bronc riding the best. I used to place in the wild horse race.

“I can remember when they had the first rodeo. We lived next door. It was quiet a deal for a small community and this was a small community then.

“My wife and I still go to the rodeo every year. She’s blind but says she can still hear it.”

CLIFF GAGE, FORMER ALL-AROUND COWBOY

Rodeo memories


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Cheryl Brown

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EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweDancing EweYarns & Teas

We have a complete selection of • knitting supplies • exotic yarns •

• gourmet teas •

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Dahlias Direct from theGrower to the Gardener! 877-4-DAHLIA

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ELLENSBURG RODEO ARENA MAP


All duplexes have spacious �oor plans, assigned parking, garages, �replaces and washers & dryers in each unit. Additional onsite storage is also available.

Ellensburg’s residential rental community. We o�er 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, single and two story duplexes. Conveniently located near C.W.U. and the business district of Ellensburg.

To make Timothy Park your next home call us at (509) 962-1300 or go to www.timothypark.net

All duplexes have spacious �oor plans, assigned parking, garages, �replaces and washers & dryers in each unit. Additional onsite storage is also available.

Ellensburg’s residential rental community. We residential rental community. We o�er 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, single and two story duplexes. Conveniently located near C.W.U. and the business district of Ellensburg.business district of Ellensburg.

To make Timothy Park your next home call us at (509) 962-1300 or go to www.timothypark.net

All duplexes have spacious �oor plans, assigned parking,

washers & dryers in each unit. Additional onsite storage is also

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113 N Main St.Kittitas, WA

Blossom Barn

509.968.4440 www.kittitasflorist.com

Cindy DewoodyOwner/Designer

“Floral and Gifts”

Come see our great selection of western giftware.

Welcome Rodeo fansWelcome Rodeo fans



Although times have changed, the pioneer spirit still prevails at the Kittitas County Fairgrounds’ Fron-tier Village.

Village caretakers Marv, 87, and Betty Kelley, 85, work each year to provide a classic experience for fair-goers of all ages.

“The village draws people in. It seems everyone that comes here is looking for that ‘old’ feeling,” Betty said.

The Frontier Village is made up of restored buildings dating from Ellensburg’s pioneer times, such as the Manastash line cabin and Cook family cabin, and also replicas of classic buildings such as Robber’s Roost, Marv said.

All buildings are decorated with genuine antiques and staffed by vol-unteers, who provide a bit of history and entertainment for fairgoers.

Ellensburg resident Gerald Hunt started the Frontier Village in the late 1970s to display a bit of his-tory for Ellensburg residents, Marv said. The Kelleys became involved with the village in 1980 when Hunt enlisted Betty in 1980 to decorate an antique building to look like a store, Betty said.

Hunt moved the historic building, which was built in 1900, from its original Ellensburg location to the Frontier Village so he could create a store setting.

Betty took him up on the plan and decided to manage a real store in the village, modeling it after the penny candy business from her youth, she said.

“I thought all little boys should have the chance to buy candy directly from an adult and look eye-to-eye across the counter at them, like in the old days,” Betty said.

Betty named the business Hunt’s General Store and decorated the building with many antiques from

Frontier Village gives kids and adults a taste of the old days


Candy for 1¢! Kids can get a taste for the good ol’ days when candy only cost a penny.


Frontier Village caretaker Marv Kelley works each year to provide a unique experience for Fairgoers.


her home. She began selling 50-cent pickles and the ever-popular penny candy, which does cost just one penny. Kids literally ate it up.

“We eventually had to limit the amount one kid could spend on candy,” Betty said with a laugh.

With a love of history and the pio-neer ideals of old, Marv and Betty began helping out more with the village. Hunt passed away in the 1980s and his wife took up running the village, Marv said. The Kelleys continued helping out, and began running it themselves about 10 years ago, Marv said.

Marv was more than happy to do the work and maintenance needed to run the village, which he still con-tinues to this day.

“It’s fun, and I enjoy building,” Marv said.

The village offers many events including getting one’s photo taken in the fake stocks and entering the log sawing contest, a popular com-petition that was once held inside the village but will take place direct-ly in front of the village’s entrance this year, Marv said. Contestants work together to saw through a log using a cross cut and beat their opponents’ time, Marv said

“It’s not a matter of strength, it’s a matter of balance and timing,” Marv said.

The village appeals especially to children, Marv said, offering enter-tainment such as panning for “gold.” The popular gold is actually fool’s gold or pyrite, but don’t tell the kids that.

“The kids are wide eyed, and will tell you stories about taking gold to school,” Betty said.

If the children aren’t busy making their fortune, they might be found at the country schoolhouse, a tradi-tional style school building ran by former public school teacher and Ellensburg resident Donna Nyland-er. She teaches a few lessons in basic subjects each day for children, also offering poetry readings and per-formances by musicians, Nylander said.

“I make it interesting for the kids and try to do things that are old fashioned so they can have the experience of what it was like before television,” Nylander said.

Of course, no pioneer town is complete without a saloon. How-ever, don’t go looking for a shot of whiskey at this watering hole.

“We only stock Henry Weinhardt’s finest root beer,” said Marian Ger-rits, an Ellensburg resident and volunteer who staffs the saloon. The root beer is a top seller among young and old alike, Gerrits said, often drawing in old friends.

“Kids who I met four years ago will come back and say ‘hi,’” Gerrits said.

Many of those same children come back later as volunteers at

the village, Marv said. The vil-lage is completely volunteer run and mostly self sufficient, gaining money needed for maintenance and improvements by selling soda in the saloon and goods at Hunt’s General Store, Marv said.

The Kelleys plan on running the village as long as they can, Marv said, bringing a bit of the old west back to modern Ellensburg and delighting fairgoers in the process.

“We’ve watched kids come in, grow up, and then bring their fami-lies to the village,” Betty said. “We get wonderful people here.”

Joe Whiteside ⁄ Daily Record

Fairgoers stand in line for the Super One Foods Community Lunch in 2007.


Thursday, August 287 a.m. Rodeo Slack

10 a.m. Kittitas County Fair opens

12 p.m. Carnival and Midway Rides open

7 p.m. Hall of Fame Banquet (Doors open at 6pm)

• Limited number of tickets available through the Ticket Office for $35

• Dinner and Induction Ceremony at New CWU Student Union Ballroom

10 p.m. Kittitas County Fair closes

Friday, August 2910 a.m. Kittitas County Fair opens


6:45 p.m. Opening Performance of the Ellensburg Rodeo

• Tickets available through Rodeo Office (800) 637-2444• Crowning of Miss Rodeo Washington 2009• Rodeo Tickets provide admittance to the Fair on the same

day • so come early and enjoy both the Rodeo and the Fair!


Saturday, August 306:30 a.m. Pancake Breakfast (8th & Ruby • Albertson’s parking lot)

• cost is approximately $5.00 per person9:30 a.m. Western Parade (downtown)



12:45 p.m. Ellensburg Rodeo

8 p.m. PRCA Xtreme Bulls Event

• Tickets available through Rodeo Office (800) 637-2444• Gates open at 7 p.m./show starts at 8 p.m.10 p.m. Kittitas County Fair closes

Sunday, August 318 a.m. Pancake Breakfast (8th & Ruby • Albertson’s parking lot)


10 a.m. Cowboy Church

• Located in Section KK (NE Arena)• Open to public12 p.m. Carnival and Midway Rides Open

12:45 p.m. Ellensburg Rodeo • Tough Enough to Wear Pink

6:45 p.m. Broncs Blowout

• $12 general admission tickets• Bronc riding and exhibition drills performed by mounted

posses• Posse games to follow10 p.m. Kittitas County Fair closes

Monday, September 18:30 a.m. Cattle Baron’s Brunch

• Located at the Reed Park on the hill overlooking the Rodeo Arena

• Sponsored by Young Life• Tickets available through the Rodeo Office $20 per

person10 a.m. Kittitas County Fair opens

11:45 a.m. Ellensburg Rodeo Finals



(Event schedule is subject to change.)

Rodeo & Fair schedule

Joe Whiteside ⁄ Daily Record


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907 Hibbs Road | (509) 933-1737Ellensburg, WA 98926 (Next to Luft Trailer Sales)


Cowboy hats: A mark of styleBy DON GRONNINGstaff writer

Cowboy hats are both a fashion statement and a use-ful tool. For working cowboys and cowgirls, hats provide shade and protection from the elements, as well as look-ing stylish. We talked to Matthew Range, who does mar-keting for Hatco, the company that owns Resistol and Stetson hats, for some advice on hats.

Felt or straw?One of the first questions a hat buyer needs to answer

is felt or straw. In hot weather, straw hats are lighter and more airy, although they don’t survive getting stepped on as well as felt hats. Straw cowboy hats are also cheaper, priced from about $20-$100. Straw is a bit of a misnomer. Most straw cowboy hats are made of shan-tung, a high performance paper that is rolled into a yarn by hand in China.

Cost“Think about what you want to spend,” says Range.

As with most things, as the quality goes up, so does the price. With felt hats, wool felt hats are at the cheaper end of the spectrum, selling for about $60. Wool-fur blends are the next step, with fur blends making up the top end of the felt hat market. Range says Hatco offers a 1,000 X Stetson made of a beaver, chinchilla blend that sells for $5,000. You can get a nice rabbit-beaver blend for about $180, he says.

ColorThe next thing to decide is the color. “Try on a variety

of colors,” says Range. “Some colors look better on some people than others.”

He says black is the most popular color, followed by silver belly, palomino, mist grey and silver grey.

Fit“The best way to get the right fit is to try on different

sizes,” says Range. He says if you can’t try on different sized hats, you can measure your head with a measur-ing tape. You measure about an inch above the eyebrow and go round the biggest part of the head. Then divide the measurement by pi (.314) or see the chart. Most men are 7-7 3/8 and most women fall into the 6 3/4 - 7 1/8 size, he says.

Head shape also figures into hat fitting, which is another reason to try on the hat first. Most heads are oval but how oval varies. Some heads are not oval, says Range.

Hat bands, accessories“Hat bands make the hat your own,” says Range. Hats

usually come with a band but beads, horsehair, silver and leather are all used in hat bands.

StyleBrims and crowns are what distinguish Western hats

from other hats. Most Western hats have 4-inch brims, 4.25 inches if the brim has a bound edge. “We’ve noticed brims getting slightly bigger,” says Range. “Our biggest is 5 inches.”

The most popular crown is 4 5/8s inches. Open crowns are coming back into style, says Range. With an open or non-shaped crown, you can crease it however you want.

Felt

Straw

Old StyleTom mix


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Phone • 509-656-2371Toll Free • 800-356-3750Fax • 509-656-0150

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Easton, WA 98925

Laura • 509-674-1120Larry • 425-443-7911Tom • 509-674-1120

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Cowboy hats: etiquetteBy Longfellow Deedswww.thelastbestwest.comNo other piece of clothing carries such a compli-cated set of rules involving its wear. Here are some traditional rules for wearing a cowboy hat — and some we think are just good manners.

• Any hat should be removed when eating any-where, that includes baseball caps!• Any hat should be removed when the national anthem of any country is played. Hold your hat in your right hand, over your heart. This applies to women, unless their hat is held on with hat pins.• Cowboys tip their hats to ladies when outdoors,

remove them when being introduced, and remove them when entering a lady’s home.• Men never tipped their hats to other men in the Old West. It was akin to calling them a woman. A nod was a common greeting when not shaking hands. The Code of the West• In commercial or public buildings it’s not neces-sary to remove your hat — but should be when en-tering a private offi ce. Generally considered polite to remove it in a private home, unless other people are wearing their hat.• Wearing a (cowboy) hat to a theatre or movie is fi ne but should be removed if it blocks anyone’s view of the entertainment.

See us online today...


“It has been said, ‘Just before one dies or thinks they are dying your entire life passes before you,’ ... not so. Normally I prefer being near the chutes during the bucking stock events. For two reasons: I like to hear the chatter among riders and chute workers and I cannot afford the fancy long lenses most photographers have, which allow them to stand on the track in front of the main grandstand. They do get better photographs.

“In the late 1970s or early ’80s I found myself in the middle of the arena. A bull already had tossed its would-be rider and was freelancing around the arena looking for something to hit. A track runner in high school, I knew I could outrun any bull. All I had to do was reach a gate panel leaning against the arena fence.

Surprise ... the gate panel was not fastened to the fence along the main grandstand fence. Oh, I knew I would reach the panel just ahead of the bull, but I did not know the panel would fall into the arena when I made my first climbing step.

“Any moment I expected to feel a set of horns hit my ribs, but my life did not pass in front of me ... only the thought of who was the so and so who leaned that gate panel against the track fence without fastening it. Apparently the bull saw photographer Bob Case in the stands and decided to give him a full-face view to photograph rather than kill an arena photographer.”

— JOHN FOSTER,AWARD WINNING RODEO PHOTOGRAPHER AND FORMER ELLENSBURG RODEO

COMMITTEEMAN

“Last year was the first year for me to ride and it didn’t go very well (he was bucked off). But it is a good rodeo and I’ll be back this year.”

ALLEN HELMUTH, PRCA BULL RIDER

“I’ve watched my Dad (Sam Kayser) a lot there. I’ve roped there twice as a PRCA roper. It’s a little nerve wracking competing at your hometown rodeo, but it’s fun too.”

KASS KAYSER, PRCA TIE DOWN ROPER

Welcome Rodeo FansGETTIN HUNGRY?

Mosey on down to Perkins for scrumptious breakfasts, tasty lunches or

mouth-watering dinners, that will whet your appetite...

...or...try something from

our delicious bakery.

Breakfast, Dinner and everything in between.

Open 6 am - MidnightFor Your Dining Convenience

925-4662Exit 106 Off I-90

Rodeo memories


John Foster makes his escape ... barely.

Cont

ribu

ted


At the Kittitas County FairAugust 28 - September 1 · 2008

www.kittitascountyfair.com | 509.962.7639 | 800.426.5340*Bracelets do not include the cost of fair admission

STRUT YOUR STUFF

STRUT YOUR STUFF

Come & Enjoy all of the Great FREE Entertainment all weekend long,

featuring:“Elvis”, SFC Jaime Buckley-US Army,

Kids Tractor Pull and Much More!

www.kittitascountyfair.com | 509.962.7639 | 800.426.5340www.kittitascountyfair.com | 509.962.7639 | 800.426.5340

Pre-Purchase your *P.O.P.

Bracelets by Aug. 27 & Save $5

Bracelets are available at:Ellensburg Chamber of Commerce609 N. Main Street

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“Over 30 years ago, a group of girls from the West Side and a group from the east side of the mountains (Ellensburg) formed a barrel racing club. It was called the Washington Barrel Racing Association. We pursued the rodeos to have a barrel race during their event.

“The Ellensburg Rodeo was hard to convince and we ended up having our races in the posse night show. It turned out to be a real success and fun to watch. The next year we were allowed to have our barrel race inside the Ellensburg Rodeo.

“I competed for more than 20 years and won my share of buckles and races. But more importantly, I made many friends throughout the Northwest and helped many girls get started in a sport I had a lot of fun with.

“Today women from across the country come to Ellensburg to compete Labor Day weekend for a chance to win over $3,000 in the rodeo.”

NORMA DOAK, BARREL RACER

Rodeo memoriesCo

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“Last year was my first year to compete at Ellensburg and I placed in a round. I was pretty excited.”

JARRED THOMAS, PRCA STEER WRESTLER

“I looked forward to (the rodeo) every year. I don’t think I’ve missed one. I haven’t had any luck in the major events but last year I won the wild cow milking and I’ve won the county roping three times.”

JASON MINOR, PRCA ROPER

“The first year I entered the Ellensburg Rodeo was 1947. I drew a horse called Open Switch and he took a run at me and threw me off. I never had any luck riding at Ellensburg. I would go to Moses Lake and ride the same horse and get a check.”

FRANK BEARD,BAREBACK, SADDLE BRONC RIDER IN 40’S, ‘50S

Rodeo memories


Jason Minor

Joe

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Rodeo memories


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ine

1978

19751975 — Ticket sales for the rodeo were $98,847, an increase of $18,427 from the previous year.

1978 — A 1,200-seat grandstand replaced the bleachers at the northeast corner of the arena. Ticket sales grew to $119,176.

Phot

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Bob Kelley

“One year (about 1968) Larry Wyatt and I had were trying to get to Walla Walla for a night perfor-mance after we got through at Ellensburg. I was driving and we were going down the road about as fast as you could go pulling a horse trailer and we had some shirts on a hanger in the back seat.

“One of the shirts came off the hanger and wrapped around my head. We were going about 90 or so and I just froze to the wheel. Larry had to get the shirt off my head.

“It was hard to explain to the other cowboys why I had all these scratch marks on my neck.”

CHET “TUFFY” MORRISON, ALL-AROUND COWBOY WHO COMPETED MANY TIMES IN SEVERAL

EVENTS

“I grew up here, so I guess I started going to the Ellensburg Rodeo in about 1962. I remember watching guys like Dean Oliver and Tom Ferguson and guys like that. Then I started roping. I was pretty nervous that first year, in the county roping. Eventually I got my PRCA card and competed in the calf roping in the PRCA rodeo. To go from sitting in the stands to competing here was a life-long dream.”

BOB KELLEY, TIE DOWN ROPER


Rode

o Ti

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ine

1982

19811981 — Team roping was added for the fi rst time. Doyle Gellerman and Walt Woodard won the event.

1982 — The fi rst four-performance rodeo was held, with 526 entries. The rodeo was also was televised, with Larry Mahan doing color commentary.

1984 — Johnny Cash and June Carter performed during a cold Friday night performance. Ticket sales for the rodeo rose to $180,299, up from $161,684.

1985 — Yakima County Posse mem-ber Bill Toney was killed when his horse veered and he struck a post during the Cliff Race.

1988 — Texan Cody Lambert won the all-around title, becoming the fi rst rid-ing event contestant since 1971 to win the all-around. He placed in the bull riding and saddle bronc riding.

1990 — The Ellensburg Rodeo dropped its slogan “Greatest Show on Dirt” after being sued by Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey circus.

1991 — The city of Ellensburg and Kit-titas County agreed to a joint funding plan to construct a new steel grand-stand behind the bucking chute. It was to cost $35,000 and would seat 1,100.

1993 — The rodeo made a record profi t of $106,813, including income from non-ticket sources.

1997 — The Rodeo Grandmas ap-peared on the Rosie O’Donnell Show.

2000 — The Budweiser Clydesdales and their handlers were named Grand Marshals for the Rodeo Parade.

2002 — The popular Extreme Bulls event was started with an exhibition contest in Ellensburg. The stand-alone bull riding event brought out top competitors, with B.J. Schumacher winning the event. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association picked up the concept and a national tour was started.

2004 — Cody DeMars broke his own arena record in the saddle bronc rid-ing with an 89-point ride aboard Toddy of the Flying Five rodeo string.

2005 — Georgia native Ryan Jarrett tied the arena record for the tie-down roping contest with 7.5 seconds. He also won the all-around title.

2007 — Ellensburg High School graduate and four-time world cham-pion team roper Allen Bach was inducted into the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame.

20041984

1985

1968

1990

1991

1993

1997

2000

2005

2007

2002

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Rodeo competition was a natural exten-sion of the daily challenges cowboys confronted on the ranch — roping calves and breaking broncs into saddle horses. Bull riding, which is intention-ally climbing on the back of a 2,000-pound bull, emerged from the fearless and possibly fool-hardy nature of the cowboy. The risks are obvious. Serious injury is always a possibility for those fearless enough to sit astride an animal that literally weighs a ton and is usually equipped with dangerous horns. Re-gardless, cowboys do it, fans love it and bull riding ranks as one of rodeo’s most popular events. Bull riding is danger-ous and predictably exciting, demand-ing intense physical prowess, supreme mental toughness and courage.

Roots of tie-down roping can be traced back to the working ranches of the Old West. When calves were sick or injured, cowboys had to rope and immobi-lize them quickly for veterinary treatment. Ranch hands prided themselves on the speed with which they could rope and tie calves.

A history of rodeo events

Continued on page 43 Joe Whiteside ⁄ Daily Record


Bareback riders endure more abuse, and carry away more long-term damage than all other rodeo cowboys. The event, like saddle bronc rid-ing, evolved from the need to break new horses for a cowboy’s needs on a ranch.

Team roping, the only true team event in ProRodeo, requires close cooperation and timing between two highly skilled rop-ers — a header and a heeler — and their horses. The event originated on ranches when cowboys needed to treat or brand large steers and the task proved too diffi cult for one man. The key to success? Hard work and endless practice. Team roping partners must perfect their timing, both as a team and with their respective horses.

Saddle bronc riding is rodeo’s classic event, both a complement and contrast to the wilder spectacles of bare-back riding and bull riding. This event demands style, grace and precise timing. Saddle bronc riding evolved from the task of breaking and training horses to work the cattle ranches. Many cowboys claim riding saddle broncs is the toughest rodeo event to master because of the technical skills necessary for success.


Photos by Joe Whiteside

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Speed and strength are the name of the game in steer wrestling, but in the days of old, a steer wres-tler was a man who took down an injured steer in need of doctoring. The objective of the steer wres-tler may have changed, but he still uses strength and technique to wrestle a steer to the ground as quickly as possible. A perfect combination of strength, timing and technique are necessary for success in the lightning-quick event of steer wres-tling.

Like bareback and sad-dle bronc riders, the bull rider may use only one hand to stay aboard during the 8-second ride. If he touches the bull or himself with his free hand, he receives no score. But unlike the other roughstock con-testants, bull riders are not required to mark out their animals. While spurring a bull can add to the cowboy’s score, riders are commonly judged solely on their ability to stay aboard the twisting, bucking mass of muscle.

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Photos by Joe Whiteside


By DON GRONNINGstaff writer

Judging riding events is one of the most confus-ing things about rodeo for many rodeo spectators. Even veteran cowboys are sometimes puzzled by judges’ scores.

Regardless of the score, the judges’ job is to get the rides ranked in the correct order, according to John Davis, head of pro officials for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

“Points are important to the fans,” said Davis, who said scores have got-ten higher in recent years. “But it’s more important that the money goes to the right people. I think you can do both.”

Larry Davis, John’s brother, was a pro bull rider, who won such prestigious rodeos as the Pendleton Round-Up, and is also a professional judge. He agreed that scores in the riding events have gotten a little higher than when he and John were riding bulls for a liv-ing back in the 1970s.

“Shoot, when I was rid-ing, if we got into the 80s we thought we were doing pretty good,” he said.

Now rides in the 90s are

not uncommon, although most riding events are won with rides in the mid to upper 80s.

In the bareback, saddle bronc and bull riding events, two judges each use 50 points, 25 for the animal and 25 for the rider, with a total of 100 points possible for the ride. The particular ani-mal a rider competes on is selected by a random draw.

The judge’s position is important when judging, and one judge is on each side, concentrating on that side.

To get a score, riders must stay on the animal 8 seconds, starting when the animal turns out of the chute. Contestants must only hold on with one hand and are disqualified if they touch the animal with their free hand, even if it is accidental.

In the bucking horse riding events — the bare-back and saddle bronc riding — the first jump out of the chute is key. The rule is that the rider must have both spurs above the break of the shoulder when the horse’s front feet hit the ground that first jump out of the chute. This is called marking out

the horse and if it isn’t done properly, the rider is disqualified.

This rule is designed to give the horse an advan-tage by putting the rider in a precarious position from the start. It doesn’t matter how spectacular the ride is, if the rider doesn’t mark the horse out, he receives a zero, something spec-tators sometimes don’t understand.

“A good announcer can help,” said Larry Davis. “If

he explains things correctly, the fans will understand.”

There are exceptions to this rule. If a horse stalls or fouls the rider in the chute by jumping into the gate or otherwise interfering with the rider’s ability to mark out the horse, the judges can waive the spur-out rule.

After the ride starts, judges are looking for many things. They are simultaneously evaluating

Judges’ job is to get rides ranked correctly

How to score riding events

Photo by Joe Whiteside

Riders must have their spurs touching the horse above the break of the shoulder when the horse’s front feet hit the ground on the first jump out of the chute. If this isn’t done, they have “missed out” the horse and receive a zero, no matter how good the ride is after that.



how difficult the animal is to ride and how masterfully the cowboy is riding.

They are also looking for things that would disqualify the rider, such as the rider touching the animal with his free hand or a foot coming out of the stirrup in the saddle bronc riding. This is all happening in an 8-second period without the benefit of instant replay.

Bareback riding

Bareback riding was intended to be a wild event, with the rider usually leaning his body back and pulling his feet up the horse’s shoulders, toward his hand. Then he lets his feet fly for-ward, throwing them out and away from the horse, now riding only on his grip, balance and timing. His feet go back to the horse’s shoulders and the spurring “lick” starts over again.

The rider is scored according to how much he exposes himself to being thrown, while maintaining control of his body. For a good score, the rider must be spurring on every

jump, with both feet maintaining contact with the horse from the shoulders clear to his hand. Bareback riders call this getting drag and it is what separates excellent riders from the mediocre.

Saddle Bronc riding

While the bareback riders get points for wildness and exposing themselves to being bucked off, the saddle bronc rider makes his points with finesse.

The judges are looking intently at the rider’s feet. He must have his toes turned out sharply and drag his spurs along the horse’s sides to the back of the saddle, then shoot his feet quickly back to the neck. On a well-timed ride, the rider has his feet high in the neck when the horse hits the ground each jump.

The judges like to see the rider solidly placing his feet high in the horse’s neck on each jump and want the toes turned out for the whole stroke.

At the extremely high level of com-petition at rodeos like Ellensburg,

missing a stroke or not getting your feet high in the neck can mean the difference between getting a pay-check or not.

The horse

The other half of the points are given to how hard the animal bucks. Judges are looking for horses that jump high and kick hard. Speed and power are taken into account, as is changing directions.

Sometimes there will be a horse that bucks wildly and spectacu-larly but mainly in one place. This horse generally isn’t considered as difficult to ride as a horse that jumps and kicks hard and changes directions often. This is because the horse is spending a lot of time almost f loating in the air and isn’t hitting the ground as hard or as often as the “ranker” horse.

Crowds go wild for this type of horse, though, and when the score doesn’t ref lect their view, the boos rain down on the officials. That doesn’t bother Larry Davis.

“To me rodeo is for the cowboys and for the fans,” he said. “If the


fans disagree, it shows they are involved.”

Bull ridingIn bull riding, even though the

same 100 points are used, the ani-mal is a lot more key to winning. The man who maintains control on the toughest bull is supposed to win.

“The bull riding is a little differ-ent than the horse riding,” said John Davis, who qualified to ride bulls at the NFR seven times. “In the bull

riding, you have to have a good ani-mal to win.”

Because bulls are far more dif-ficult to ride, they are not given the advantage of requiring the rider mark them out. Bull riders aren’t required to spur, but get more points if they do, because they have more risk of being bucked off.

Instead the judges are looking mainly at how difficult the bull is to ride. Power, speed and change in directions are all taken into account, just as in the horse events.

But many bulls have another action that most horses don’t. One of the most difficult actions to ride is the furious spin that some bulls go into.

But all spinning bulls are not equal-ly difficult to ride. The bull that jumps and kicks at the same time he is spin-ning is considered tougher to ride than one the appears to be “chasing his tail,” and doesn’t kick much.

ReridesIf the animal doesn’t perform, falls

down or otherwise fouls the contes-tant, he may be offered a reride, a chance to do it over again. At a big rodeo like Ellensburg, there is a third judge at the back of the chute who operates a stopwatch to see if the cowboy rides long enough and to see if there is a foul in the chute.

Riders don’t have to accept a reride.

since 1909since 1909We respect the importance of local news coverage. You live, work and play in Kittitas County. You take your community involvement seriously and so do we.

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Popcorn and a good horseRodeo in � lm

“The Lusty Men”Release Date: October 24, 1952Starring: Susan Hayward and Robert

Mitchum Rated: Not ratedRun time: 113 minutesFilming locations: Rodeo scenes were

shot in Livermore, Calif., Pendleton, Ore., Spokane, and Tucson, Ariz. Star rider Je� McCloud (Mitchum) su� ers a rodeo in-

jury and returns to his hometown. After being gone for a number of years, McCloud gets a job as a hired hand with a ranch and befriends fellow ranch hand Wes and wife Louise. Wes wants to learn the ways of the rodeo in order to win money to purchase his own house someday. His wife has her doubts, hoping Wes doesn’t turn into another Je� Mc-Cloud.

Movie Trivia and Quotes:

• Lusty Men provided the first actual rodeo footage to be seen by a mass audience.

• “Never was a bronc that’s never been rode. Never was a cowboy that’s never been throwed. Guys like me last forever.” — Jeff McCloud.

• “Some things you don’t do for the cash. Some things you do for the buzz you get outta them.”

“The Misfits” Released: February 1, 1961Starring: Clark Gable and Marilyn

MonroeRated: Not ratedRuntime: 124 minutesFilming location: Dayton, Nev. (rodeo

scenes)

The Mis� ts is a Western drama that follows Roslyn Tamber (Monroe) a divorcee who befriends a group of cowboys, including an aging Gay Langland (Gable) in Reno. Unbe-knownst to Roslyn, Gay makes a living of selling wild mus-tangs to slaughterhouses to make dog food. Somehow, the two create a “mis� tted” romance, contrary to Gay’s desire to stay romantically independent.

Movie Trivia:

• The Misfits was the last film for both Gable and Monroe.

• On the last day of filming, it was said Gable said, “Christ, I’m glad this picture’s finished. She [Monroe] damn near gave me a heart attack.” He suffered a massive heart attack days later, and died 11 days after.

• Clark opted to do his own stunts, such as being dragged by a truck going 30 mph.

“J.W. Coop”Released: January 1, 1972Starring: Cli� Robertson, Geraldine

Page and Christina FerrareRated: Not ratedRuntime: 112 minutes

Cowboy J.W. Coop is freed after eight years in prison, returning to the rodeo ring. Coop is determined to make up for lost years and pushes ahead only to learn that both the business and society of what he knew as rodeo has dramatically changed.

Movie Trivia and Quotes:

• Many of the cowboys found in the film played themselves, including Myrtis Dightman.

• Cliff Robinson was the producer, director and star of J.W. Coop.

• The movie ends at the National Finals Rodeo.

“Urban Cowboy”Released June 6, 1980Starring: John TravoltaRated: PGRuntime: 132 minutesFilming locations: Houston

Travolta stars as Bud Davis, a homegrown country boy who moves with is uncle in the big city, taking a job at a re� nery. Bud meets

By CHELSEA KROTZERstaff writer

Rodeo is an instrumental part of Kittitas County’s cul-ture that is Ellensburg. Amateur and professionals alike take advantage of Ellensburg’s rodeo facilities, bringing together cowboys and cowgirls of all ages to celebrate those who are rough enough and tough enough to step onto the dirt arena.

To get into the rodeo spirit, the following films depict different sides of rodeo, as well as showcase the cowboys who take risks to be involved.


Popcorn and a good horseRodeo in � lm

Sissy, a cowgirl, and gets married only to � nd their marriage in jeopardy when Sissy begins associating with con man Wes who teaches her to ride mechanical bulls. Bud signs up for an upcoming contest in order to save his and Sissy’s marriage.

Movie Trivia:

• The film was nominated for two Golden Globes.

• Patrick Swayze taught Travolta how to two-step for the movie.

• Travolta had a mechanical bull installed in his home for practice two months prior to production. Because of this he was able to do his own stunts.

“Eight Seconds”Released: February 25, 1994Starring: Luke Perry, Stephen Bald-

win and Cynthia Geary Rated: Not ratedRuntime: 105 minutesFilming locations: Rodeo scenes

were � lmed in Del Rio, TexasEight Seconds talks of the life of Lane Frost, the 1987

PRCA Bull Riding World Champion to his tragic death in the ring during Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo where Frost was gouged in the side by a bull’s horn.

Movie Trivia:• Luke Perry and Stephen Baldwin learned how to ride the bulls

and performed some of their own stunts. • Movie tagline: The sport made him a legend. His heart made him

a hero.• Tuff Hederman actually rode an extra eight seconds in memory of

Lane Frost. • Cynthia Geary has a connection to Kittitas County as a result of

her stint with the sitcom “Northern Exposure,” which was filmed in part in Roslyn. Geary portrayed Shelly Tambo, a former Miss Northwest Passage who co-habitatated with her much-older lover, Holling Vincoeur. Together they run the tavern and restau-rant The Brick. “Northern Exposure” ran from 1990-1995.

“Cowboy Up”Released: September 2, 2002Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Daryl

Hannah and Molly RingwaldRated: PG-13 for language, a scene

of sensuality and brief violence.Runtime: 105 minutes.

Filming locations: Las Vegas, Nev., and Santa Maria, Calif. Newcomer Ely Braxton (Marcus Thomas) is a crazy cowboy

taking his turn in the professional bull-riding spotlight. His brother Hank (Sutherland) is a rodeo clown, and the two work together to make their time in the ring even more interesting. The brother’s close bond can’t seem to last once Daryl Hannah’s character gets involved, creating jealousy and hatred between the two.

Movie Trivia:• “Braxton Ranch” is the actual home of Rodeo Hall of Famer Gary

Leffew.• The movie was supposed to be released in 2000, then again in

early 2001. It was released strictly to video in September 2002.

“Flicka”Released: October 20, 2006Starring: Tim McGraw, Alison Lohman

and Maria BelloRated: PG for some mild languageRuntime: 95 minutesFilming locations: Los Angeles,

Tim McGraw plays the father of Katy (Lohman), his only daughter whom he has high hopes for beyond that of the ranch he owns. Katy on the other hand wishes to follow in her father’s footsteps and take over the family ranch one day. Katy � nds a black Mustang � lly, naming it Flicka, and tries to tame it to prove to her father she can handle the responsibilities that come with owning a ranch.

Movie Trivia:• “Flicka” comes from the Swedish word meaning “girl.”• A thoroughbred horse used in the film died during a freak

accident, interrupting the filming in April 2005.

“The Cowboy Way”Released: June 3, 1994Starring: Woody Harrelson and Kiefer

SutherlandRated: PG 13Runtime: 102 minutes

Friends and rodeo champions Sonny and Pepper leave Mexico and head out to � nd their missing friend Nacho Salazar in New York City. The comedic duo goes through a wild adventure trying to � nd Nacho and his daughter, testing the foundation of their won friendship.



“We see it as a local fair, but it has people from different countries and states.”

DONNA NYLANDER

VOLUNTEER SCHOOLTEACHER AT THE FRONTIER VILLAGE

“Watching the youth show their livestock exhibits is the best part,”

BECKY MCDOWELL

FAIR BOARD DIRECTOR.

“As a kid in Ellensburg, half the summer you saved for fireworks and half you saved for the fair and rodeo,”

MICHAEL ALLEN

FORMER ELLENSBURG RESIDENT AND PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON.

“My favorite fair memory is the kids going and going until they reach complete exhaustion, then falling asleep with a smile on their faces.”

GREG ZEMPEL


“It’s a community getting together to enjoy one another’s company.”

BETTY KELLEY

CARETAKER AT THE FRONTIER VILLAGE.

“I especially like the displays of fruits and vegetables grown in the valley. The fair is the loveliest part of the year.”

BETTY ALLEN

ELLENSBURG RESIDENT.

“I have been at the fair every year as far back as I can remember. It has been inter-esting watching it change over time.”

BRIAN PAGE


“It brings people who may have grown up here and moved away back. You see people you haven’t seen in years.”

SUSIE ROGERS


“Some of my favorite child-hood memories at the fair are purchasing penny candy and pickles at the Frontier Village, seeing how many times my friends and I could spin on the zipper and winning $100 in the greased pole contest.”

HEATHER HARRELL


“Seeing friends…Being able to let the kids and now grand kids go and have fun with their friends is the best part. It is a special event.”

BILL ALLISON

FAIR BOARD PRESIDENT.

“It’s expanded over the years. The fair really shows the dedication of the people who put it together.”

JAMES FARRELL


“When compared to the larger fairs, you still get a lot of community spirit and involvement.”

ERIN BLACK

KITTITAS COUNTY MUSEUM DIRECTOR AND CURATOR.

“As a kid, some of my best memories are competing in the horse fair with my green broke horse, spinning the zipper ride as many times as we could, and meeting up friends you had not seen all summer.”

JESSIE BLACKWOOD

FAIR BOARD VICE PRESIDENT.

Fair memories

Phot

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Joe

Whi

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Ellensburg Rodeo 2008