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Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo
It’s rodeo time
As his saddle bronc puts on the brakes, Chase Bennett could have used a seat belt as he went flying forward last year at the Ute Mountain Rodeo.
Journal/ Sam Green
By Kimberly Benedict Cortez Journal Spurs, chaps and cowboy hats will fill Bob Banks Memorial Arena once again as the Montezuma County Fairgrounds plays host to the 82nd annual Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo. The rodeo, the largest in the Four Corners region, will run Thursday, June 7, through Saturday, June 9, and will provide
the staging grounds for hundreds of cowboys and cowgirls to prove their mettle against some of the toughest bulls and broncs in the business. Outgoing Ute Mountain Roundup chairman Slim McWilliams, of Lewis, said more than 400 participants are expected at the event, including some of the top members of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. “This is a sanctioned rodeo,”
McWilliams said. “It is really the only professional event we have in Cortez so we are seeing professional cowboys come and be part of this rodeo.” Among the impressive cowboys who will be showing off their skills at the rodeo will be Jake Barnes, of Scottsdale, Ariz. Barnes, 52, is a seventime PRCA team roper world champion who rarely misses the local rodeo since his sister lives in Cortez. Local son
Cody Samora will also be at the event. The 23-year-old bull rider has found plenty of success in his sport and currently sits at No. 3 in the world standings. “It is just great to be able to come to our local stadium and see guys like Barnes and Samora ride,” McWilliams said. “Theses guys are the best in the world and we get to have a piece of that. It is exciting.”
See Rodeo on Page 7