Published: August 09, 2007 10:36 am            

Time for a rodeo

Pull on your boots and dust off your hats, because it’s time again for the annual Rene & Roy’s Open Rodeo. And it’s also time to see some of your local bankers in action as they compete in a special event called a Gold Rush Relay as part of the attraction Saturday.

The rodeo will be at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Lightning C Arena near Dow. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for children 6 to 12. Children under 6 are admitted free.

Each of five local banks has a four-person team participating in the relay. The way it works is like this: Each team will be given a pan with five pieces of “gold.” From a starting point, the first person on the relay team will rush to the next and hand over the “gold,” pan and horse. And so on until the final team member crosses a finish line.

But there won’t be any live animals involved in that event.

“They’ll be riding stick horses,” said Connie Guidry, of Rene & Roy’s.

“They have to cross the finish line with all five pieces of gold. If they drop one they have to pick it up. It’s going to be a lot of fun to watch.”

Everything begins with a mutton bustin’ event each night and ends with rodeo’s traditional show stopper: bull riding.

Mutton bustin’ is for children 6 and under, but they don’t have to have any special gear to give it a try. Instead, all they have to do is be willing to climb onto a sheep and hang on. “It’s always a lot of fun,” Guidry said.

Of course, there are plenty of events for older contestants as well: barrel racing, calf roping, double mugging, ranch and bareback bronc riding, steer wrestling, ladies breakaway roping and bull riding.

Specialty events include Vicki Adams and her horse, Butterfly, who’s “Absolutely awesome” to watch, Guidry said, as well as an 8-year-old Roman rider. But the young performer doesn’t ride a small breed like Shetlands or Welsh. “He rides two full-sized horses, one foot in each saddle,” Guidry said. “He’s the youngest Roman rider and he’s really good.”

But this time there’s an added attraction, even if you don’t want to see or participate in the show.

This year Rene & Roy’s Western Apparel is raffling off a 2007 14-x-6 two-horse trailer, complete with a tack room, for anyone who wants to participate in the raffle. Tickets for chances on the trailer, which is valued at $4,850, are $10 each and may be purchased at Rene & Roy’s, Adam Ag Supply, Carla’s Cafe and the Lightning C Arena.

“This is for anyone who wants to get in on it,” Guidry said. “You don’t have to be present to win.”

The drawing will be Saturday night, the second night of the sixth annual rodeo. The rodeo is one of the Ward Stampede Series rodeos, which means contestants will be competing not only for prizes at this event, but for points to win the series overall.

Contact Doug Russell at drussell@mcalesternews.com.

        

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