Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Photo By WT Bruce

2010 RANCH HAND RODEO WEEKEND A WINNER ALL THE WAY AROUND
Five spectacular events round out Ranch Hand Rodeo weekend

WINNEMUCCA, Nev.— The Ranch Hand Rodeo weekend certainly lived up to its reputation as Winnemucca’s biggest event. Four very competitive events joined the already hot Ranch Hand Rodeo from March 3-7, and Winnemucca Convention and Visitors Authority Marketing and Sales Coordinator Michelle Hammond Urain said she couldn’t have been more pleased with the results. “Everything turned out wonderful,” said Urain this week. “Our entry numbers were up, our attendance was great and our first-ever bull sale was a complete success.”

In fact, Urain said the sale, which drew 40 sellers from Nevada, Utah and California, received rave reviews from both sides of the field. “Our buyers were thrilled with the quality of our bulls, and our sellers were very pleased as well,” she said. This year’s Volume Buyer was Tim DeLong of Denio, Nevada. The High Selling Bull, Cain Objective 7275-9313, was consigned by Wild West Angus and purchased by Kevin Tomera of Spring Creek. The Overall Average was $2,200, the Black Angus Average was $2,303, the Red Angus Average was $2,035 and the Charolais Average was $2,214.

The Winnemucca Cow Dog Trial also had a great year, according to Urain. Seventy canine athletes took to the arena in three classes. When it was all over, Mason Winebarger with “Piper
& Syd” took first in the Brace Class, Loren Holmes and “Dazzle” took tops honors in the Open Pro Class, and Janet Oaks and “Misty Oaks Strider” placed first in the Ranch Class.
Another great event, the Winnemucca Stock Horse Challenge, crowned “Heavens Wild Cat” the Open Snaffle Bit/Hackamore Champion. The horse is owned by Dave and Kathryn Grashuis and was ridden by Flint Lee.

“Classic Tivio Bar,” owned and ridden by Hector Pena took first place in the Open Two-Rein/Bridle, while “Cocky Lil Colonel,” owned and ridden by Ryan Markham took first in the Non-Pro Snaffle Bit/Hackamore. “Tallulah Fox,” owned and ridden by Katie DeLong was tops in the Non-Pro Two-Rein/Bridle.

Ryan Markham from Bruneau, ID on Cocky Lil Colonel
2nd High Selling Horse Horse
Champion Non-Pro Snaffle/Hackamore

The Winnemucca Ranch, Rope and Performance Horse Sale also did its part for a stellar weekend. The competition saw more than 50 horses pass through the ring with an overall average of horses sold of $3,946, up from $3,000 the year before; the top 10 average of horses sold was $7,155. Saturday’s high selling horse was “Bueno De Kid,” consigned by Bret Paulik of Erda, Utah, which sold to Carl Malkmus of Gardnerville for $12,500.

Urain said the sale continues to be a mainstay for the weekend with help from some great publicity following last year’s event as well as electronic conveniences such as an online catalog.
A Western Trade Show was open from Thursday through Sunday, also at the indoor event center. Over 60 vendors participated with most reporting having done very well. “People were buying a lot,” said Urain, adding, “Our vendors were very happy.”

But the highlight of the entire weekend, of course, was the 21st anniversary of the Winnemucca Ranch Hand Rodeo. A Calcutta got things started Saturday morning, March 6, with the rodeo competition following Saturday and Sunday, March 7. This year drew 30 four-man/one-woman teams—25 from outside the Winnemucca area—whose mission it was to outdo the competition in seven events, including saddle bronc riding, wild mugging, calf roping, team branding, team roping, ranch doctoring and women’s steer stopping. Each team competed in all the events; women had to compete in steer stopping and wild mugging.
Following fierce competition, it was the 101 Ranch from Winnemucca that walked away with first-prize winnings of $5,513 along with Winnemucca Ranch Hand Rodeo Championship jackets. Second place was a tie between DeLong Ranches of Winnemucca and Newman Livestock of St. Anthony, Idaho. Each team enjoyed winnings of $3,621. Fourth place went to the Eiguren Ranch of Jordan Valley, Oregon, with $1,890 in winnings; in fifth place was the B Bar B Quarter Horses of Elko, Nevada, with $1,103 in winnings.

Tim DeLong was the lucky winner of the Calcutta and $4,701 after placing his money on the 101 Ranch team. Billie Filippini and Tim DeLong tied for second with their respective purchases of the DeLong Ranch and Newman Livestock teams; they each walked away with $3,089.Ambrose McAuliffe got lucky twice, purchasing both the fourth-place Eiguren Ranch and fifth place B Bar B Quarter Horses teams. He took home $1,612 and $940 respectively.

Top winners in each event category were awarded silver buckles, while the person who scored the most points overall was named “Top Hand.” This year’s winner of the “John and Dutch Zabala Top Hand Award” was Daxton Jim of the first-place 101 Ranch team. He was presented his silver buckle by local resident Ray Zabala.

Additionally, Buster Dufurrena was named the “2010 Ranch Hand of the Year” Saturday before the competition kicked off, and longtime Ranch Hand Rodeo chairman Garley Amos was presented with a proclamation, in person, from Governor Jim Gibbon honoring his 15 years of dedication to the event, as well as a commemorative Ranch Hand Rodeo jacket.
“We had a great time,” said Urain of the weekend that drew well over 2,500 people to the Winnemucca Event Center. “It was busy and fun and exciting to see all those people coming into Winnemucca. It was good for them and good for our local community—a win-win all the way around.”

For more information on the 2010 Winnemucca Ranch Hand Rodeo Weekend and results, please visit http://www.ranchrodeonv.com/ or call the Winnemucca Convention and Visitors Authority at (775) 623-5071 or (800) 962-2638.