Jackson Hole Rodeo

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RODEO 2015 SOUVENIR PROGRAM

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2015 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

Inside the

JACKSON

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RODEO

P.O. Box 7445 Jackson, WY 83002 (307) ­733-2047 www.jhnewsandguide.com PUBLISHER: Kevin Olson PROJECT EDITORS: Richard Anderson, Emma Breysse PHOTOGRAPHY: Photo editor: Price Chambers Contributing photographers: Bradly J. Boner, Price Chambers, Sofia Jaramillo, Rachel Shaver, Michael G. Seamans COPY EDITORS: Jennifer Dorsey, Mark Huffman Lou Centrella EDITORIAL DESIGN: News&Guide Staff WRITERS: Richard Anderson, Ben Graham, Mike Koshmrl, Mike Polhamus, Johanna Love, Clark Forster, Frances Moody, Julie Butler, Jason Suder DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING: Adam Meyer BRAND MANAGER: Amy Golightly AD PRODUCTION MANAGER: Lydia Redzich ADVERTISING ARTISTS: Lydia Redzich Andy Edwards Sarah Grengg ACCOUNT COORDINATOR: Oliver O’Connor ADVERTISING SALES: Karen Brennan Chad Repinski Tom Hall Matt Cardis PREPRESS: Jeff Young PRESS FOREMAN: Greg Grutzmacher

SOFIA JARAMILLO / News&Guide File

Junior Princess Jordan Lutz waits and makes last-second adjustments before a Wednesday night rodeo begins at the Teton County fairgrounds.

Rodeo Redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Teton County Rodeo Grounds get $1.4 million upgrade.

Rodeo grew from Wilson roots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Over more than a century, neighborhood fun has grown into a thriving business.

Buckle Up and Belt it Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 One of the prizes of rodeo glory, the buckle is a shiny badge of courage.

Indoor Arena Keeps Young Riders in Rodeo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Heritage Arena revolutionizes next generation’s rodeo practice.

Rodeo Royalty Rides in a Tiara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Camaraderie reigns at the end of every rodeo royalty pageant.

Western Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Jackson Hole News&Guide photographers catch moments from the arena.

Jackson Hole Rodeo Seeks an “Honest Bull” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Broncs and bulls find a home in Teton County.

A Horse Named Beamer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 12-year-old barrel racer McKenna Schroeder has a special bond with her teammate.

PRESSMEN: Dale Fjeldsted Johnathan Leyva Mike Taylor

Blood on the Saddle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

CIRCULATION: Pat Brodnik Kyra Griffin Hank Smith Jeff Young

Team roping a short, fast display of coordinating cowboying.

Broken bones, bloody faces, stomped limbs: Rodeo athletes know the risks of their sport.

Rodeo for Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

COVER PHOTO: PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE File

Dakota Munns rides high on Grey Gonza during the saddle bronc contest at the Jackson Hole Rodeo.

After his ride, Munns found himself with 60 points and in a three-way tie for first place.

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2015 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

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Rodeo

By Richard Anderson

F

rom the new crow’s nest overlooking the rodeo arena at the Teton County Fair Grounds, it’s immediately apparent that something big is going on.

A fleet of construction equipment huddles in the southwest corner of the grounds, idle at the moment but onsite

Redo

to finish the installation of a cellphone tower. Three large piles of dirt occupy most of the southern portion of the arena, waiting to be re-spread for the bronc-busting action to come. And here and there an individual or a small crew works on livestock pens, building wooden walkways and fencing and other jobs — some big and obvious, others smaller and less conspicuous.

But the work is spread out over the 26-acre arena and contiguous fairgrounds, so on the first of May the rodeo grounds seemed calm and quiet — even though the first Jackson Hole Rodeo of the 2015 summer was just about three weeks away.

The changes and improvements — funded with $1.4 million in tax funds ap>> continued on page 5 proved by voters

PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE File

The rodeo grounds have received $1.4 million in improvements since last spring, including a new crow’s nest for judges and announcers.

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Rachel Shaver / NEWS&GUIDE File

Some improvements have been made to the rodeo chutes and staging area. >> continued from page 4

in 2010, with work getting underway last October — touch nearly every corner of the rodeo grounds at the corner of Snow King Avenue and Flat Creek Drive. And even though the average summer tourist might not notice, the work is bound to affect the way they experience the sport.

“We’ve made improvements to the Heritage Arena,” said Tracy Ross, fairgrounds and fair manager since last June, “improved the crow’s nest, got new rough-stock panels, new restrooms and redeveloped the whole layout of the grounds,” a change that will help keep rodeo audience members better separated from the livestock and back-of-house action.

“It will all be surrounded by new perimeter fencing,” Ross said. Ticket sales will be consolidated on the east end of the grounds. There had been a ticket booth in the northwest corner, close to livestock pens, but that has been relocated. “So it will be easier for spectators to find their way in and get around.”

A new $50,000 sound system will both help crowds follow the action in the arena and contain the ruckus, toning it down for nearby residential neighborhoods.

Jason Wheeldon, the fairground’s maintenance coordinator, said that little odd jobs and improvements have taken place at the rodeo arena over the years, but taken together this winter and spring’s work represents the first major renovation of the busy outdoor summer venue in 15 or 20 years.

Phil Wilson, who holds the contract to operate Jackson Hole Rodeo at the county fairgrounds, compared the project to getting in a new car after having been stuck in an old, if wellloved, jalopy.

“And this is going to be a Cadillac,” he said. “There ain’t many things more we could ask for.”

Well, maybe a few things. Wilson has said that at the height of summer the arena’s 2,000-seat capacity it stretched to its limits. Additional guests are accommodated by bleachers the rodeo borrows from the Teton County School District. That mostly works fine, but Wilson has said he wouldn’t mind some new, permanent seating. Also, covering all of the seating on the south side of the arena has completely changed the experience for guests, he said; someday he’d like to see additional shelter for the rest of the rodeo crowd.

But for now he’s pleased as a cowpuncher could be.

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RODEO

GREW FROM

Wilson roots

By Mike Koshmrl

U

ntil a half century ago Jackson Hole’s rodeo spectators viewed the festivities literally seated on the toe of the Tetons, in bleachers that were fixed to the slopes west of the Stagecoach Bar. From when it began under the name Jackson’s Hole Frontier Rodeo, around 1911,

until its move in to the town of Jackson in the early 1960s, the rodeo was a Wilson affair.

The Saturday night spectacle was in its waning days on the west bank when 78-year-old Hal Johnson arrived in the valley in 1957.

“It was super,” Johnson said of the rodeo’s old setting.

“People sat up on the hill.”

“Of course Walt Callahan

Clark Wheeldon on Wild Swede

had the Stagecoach Bar and he had the rodeo,” he said, “and so it all went hand-in-hand.”

Don’t waste your time going to look for relics of the old rodeo in the area behind the Stagecoach. The evidence from the days of Wyoming cowboys bronc riding and roping has all been erased, Johnson said. The bucking chutes, he said, were right where the trailer home is

today, and a boarded fence ran from the front side of the bar west to the steep hillside.

Bill Saunders went on to buy the rodeo from Callahan in the early ’60s. The rodeo moved across the Snake River in the Saunders era, but Johnson recalled that he wasn’t given much of a choice.

“The town of Jackson told >> continued on page 8

Jackson HOle HIstorical Society

2015 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM >> continued from page 7

him he had a choice: Either move the rodeo to Jackson or they would bring in another company,” Johnson said.

Before the move, Jackson held only sporadic rodeos on special occasions such as the Fourth of July, Johnson said.

Once located in the county seat the rodeo hasn’t moved from its current grounds. The venture would go on to change hands, being owned by Johnson and then Bob McConaughy, Russ Moses and Philip Wilson.

Johnson recalled the competitions at the old Wilson rodeos being relatively simplistic.

“They had calf roping, team roping, bareback riding and saddle bronc riding — and that was it,” he said.

By the account of Jackson Hole settler Fern Nelson, the conventions of the early rodeos were different from what goes on today.

“Corrals were not used for saddling the bucking stock in these early rodeos,” Nelson is quoted saying in a history of the rodeo assembled by the Jackson Hole Historical Society. “Buckers, either horses or steers, were roped in the big corral, dragged out in the middle of the arena and there blindfolded with a coat, sack or kerchief and saddled.”

“The bronc rider mounted, got settled, then reached forward and pulled off the blindfold,” Nelson said. “They rode the bucking bulls and steers with a saddle.”

As Johnson remembers it, the rodeo stock was different back in the days the event was held in Wilson.

“Walt Callahan had probably the best group of bucking horses that there has ever been,” Johnson said.

After its departure a couple of attempts were made to restart a Wilson rodeo, but both “didn’t go,” Johnson said.

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Buckle Up and

BELT IT OUT

By Clark Forster

B

elt buckles stand out.

They are flashy, shiny works of art that tie the whole cowboy getup together from the boots and spurs to the 10-gallon hat.

And cowboys and cowgirls want them to stand out.

A strong, tight tuck of their shirt behind the buckle will prevent the shirt from obscuring the staple of their outfit.

Because riders, especially the successful ones, don’t want to mask their accomplishments.

“It’s kind of the resume,”

Angela Berry, marketing director for the Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo said. “For every rodeo that they’re at where they win a belt buckle they have that right to brag about being the champions at that rodeo.”

Belt buckles are the medals and ribbons of the rodeo

The collection of buckles given to rodeo winners awaits their shining moment at the rodeo grounds.

world. They are the trophies that cowboys and cowgirls receive for winning or placing among the best in a particular event.

The more success the riders experience, the more belt buckles they own.

“But obviously they can’t >> continued on page 10

PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE File

2015 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

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>> continued from page 9

wear them all at once,” Berry said.

Oftentimes the buckles contain the rodeo name, the competition, the year and an engraving of the winner’s name.

And these aren’t like Super Bowl rings. They don’t sit in a display case or get hidden away in an underwear drawer.

Buckles aren’t boastful and are worn with great pride said the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s Brandy Sorenson.

“When you have something that you’ve dreamed of for years and that you were able to take first place or get to the Nationals Finals Rodeo, of course you would wear it proudly,” Sorenson said.

Almost all cowboys, from rodeo riders to ranchers, sport belt buckles nowadays. But that’s not how it’s always been.

The practice of riders wearing buckles began in the 1930s and 40s when Westerns ruled the cinema. Seeing John Wayne flaunting a glistening silver, dramatic belt buckle had all kinds of cowboys rushing to the local silversmith.

Cowboys of the American frontier didn’t wear belt buckles, instead sporting friction buckles and suspenders to hold their pants up.

Today’s beginner cowboys and cowgirls don’t have to wear suspenders before winning their first belt buckle. The buckles tend to stay in rodeo families and are often passed down from generation to generation.

And if a rider isn’t gifted a buckle or doesn’t win one, there’s no shame in just buying one.

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Indoor

ARENA keeps young riders in rodeo

By Frances Moody

B

efore the Heritage Arena was built kids who were part of Teton County 4-H or Jackson Hole High School Rodeo had to drive to Alpine or Big Piney to use a heated indoor facility in the winter.

Since its construction in 2006 the arena located at the Teton County Fairgrounds has become a multipurpose facility used not only by the 4-H livestock clubs and high school rodeo team, but also by other groups and individuals

in the valley.

“You will find that pretty much every evening it is rented from 4 to 9 p.m.,” said Todd Wagner, president for the Teton County Fair Board.

The building holds special events, practice sessions and group meetings. The high school rodeo, several 4-H clubs and individual equestrian riders use it on a weekly basis.

Wagner said the high school rodeo has become more popular since the arena was built.

“Our high school rodeo

team was disappearing without the ability to use an indoor arena,” Wagner said.

“The first rodeo is usually the second week of April. During that time, the ground is still covered with snow in Jackson, so the kids weren’t able to practice a lot before the rodeo.”

Now the team practices at the arena every Monday in the winter. In the spring and summer, it practices there every Tuesday.

“The girls come in to practice their pole bending, barrel racing, goat tying and break-

away calf roping,” Wagner said. “The boys will come in and the boys will do team roping and calf roping.”

Last month members from the rodeo team started roping live steers that were brought to the arena.

“They were able to rope live cattle instead of a pull dummy that you pull behind a four-wheeler,” Wagner said.

Horses and livestock often stomp the arena’s dirt floor.

In fact, 4-H livestock clubs use the scale located in the practice center to weigh pigs, >> continued on page 12

MICHAEL G. SEAMANS / News&Guide File

A pair of barrel racing competitors at the Jackson Hole Rodeo warm up in the late afternoon sun in the Heritage Arena.

2015 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

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>> continued from page 11

cows and other animals. Kids who are part of the clubs often tag their animals after the weigh-ins.

“The tagging and weigh-in is usually held twice a spring,” said Kenzie Krinkee, the youth development educator for 4-H. “Kids can also come in individually and weigh their animals more often if they want.”

4-H also uses the arena for the Teton County Fair each July to show off the livestock raised by its members. Before the existence of the building the animals were showcased in the pavilion behind the fairground’s offices.

Wagner said the pavilion was too small for all of the animals that were brought to the fair.

In addition to housing livestock for the fair, the Heritage Arena is used for other special events. The Wrangler Team Roping takes place at the arena each May, while the Priefert World Series Team Roping happens every June. In September of each year the Jackson Hole High School Rodeo occurs in the arena. The Jackson Hole Ski Swap and Fireman’s Ball also take place there.

Whether it’s rented out weekly for practices or for special occasions, the arena is an important space for many Jackson residents, Wagner said.

“It’s been a blessing to the Western heritage way of life here in Jackson,” he said.

Other groups that rent out the arena include the Teton Barrel Racing Association, the Grand Teton Kennel Club, Jackson Hole Positive Training, Citizen Mounted Unit and the Teton Equestrian Club. Individual horseback riders also frequent the arena for open riding sessions or scheduled appointments.

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Rodeo

royalty rides in a tiara

By Julie Butler

T

he Andrews sisters of Jackson Hole may have competed against each other for rodeo royalty’s PeeWee Princess crown several years ago, but they quickly put that awkward moment behind them.

During the 2014 Teton County Fair and Rodeo Royalty Pageant there was no sign of sibling rivalry between Claire Andrews, a senior at Jackson Hole High School, and her younger sister Sarah, a sophomore.

In fact, all the contestants for the various titles were friendly and supportive of one another.

Each year a dozen or so young rodeo participants compete for the titles of Future Princess, PeeWee Princess and PeeWee attendant, Junior Princess and Junior attendant, and Senior Princess and Senior attendant.

The Rodeo Royalty Pageant is different from a beauty pageant in that all the girls work on the same talent — horsewomanship.

Claire, 17, has been riding for 14 years and participating in rodeo for 12. She has competed in the royalty pageant for 10 years and has held the title of Senior Princess for four years straight.

“I am just really blessed to win a title,” she said of last year’s competition, “and even if don’t, I feel blessed to

SOFIA JARAMILLO / NEWS&GUIDE File

2014 pageant contestants gather together for a photo before the rodeo queen pageant modeling and speech performances near the Teton County Fair building. Rodeo titles are highly coveted, and competition is serious, but camaraderie inevitably rules at the end of the day.

be part of a sport I love and being an ambassador and showing people the inside of a sport we love so much.”

When she did beat out her little sister for the wearing of the PeeWee Princess sash, her house was filled with mixed emotions.

“I won in 2009 and it was awful,” Claire said. “There was a crying child upstairs and a celebrating one downstairs — it was quite a scene!”

She is the oldest girl in the entire program now, she said, and being “top dog,” she is looking forward to her final reign in Heritage Arena.

“I can’t wait to educate people wherever I can and give them insight into the Wild West,” Claire said.

Sarah Andrews, 16, is also a veteran of rodeo riding in the Jackson Hole Rodeo and around the region. In her eighth year of competing and now as a member of the royalty, she is excited to be a Junior Princess attendant.

“Rodeo is a ton of fun,” she said. “It is amazing to be able to support the sport of rodeo, share it, explain it and to educate the fans about it.”

This year’s Junior Princess, 13-year-old Jordan

Lutz, is no stranger to the pageant either.

Riding horses since she was 3 and involved competitively in rodeo since she was 8, the Jackson Hole Middle School eighth-grader served one year as a Junior Princess attendant at 12 before winning the title last summer.

“It felt wonderful to be named, it surprised me so much,” Jordan said. “I got so happy and so excited to support the Jackson Hole Rodeo 2015 season.

“As an ambassador of the sport, the Junior Princesses >> continued on page 14

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SOFIA JARAMILLO / NEWS&GUIDE File

Claire Andrews kisses her horse, Missy, before the rodeo queen horsemanship competition last summer.

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get to have the privilege of informing people who come to rodeo about it and how it works, and how the cowboys work,” she said.

Jordan proudly added that she also gets to carry a flag at the beginning of the rodeo and “walk around the stands and meet kids.”

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Views WESTERN

PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE File

Bodee and Seth Wilson get lined up behind their steer during a team roping event at the Teton County Fair Rodeo.

PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE File

Saddle bronc rider Cache Hill holds on tight, on his way to a score of 72 points in bareback riding.

SOFIA JARAMILLO / news&guide File

Chance Ames, of Big Piney, relaxes on a lounge chair as friends get ready for a Saturday night Jackson Hole Rodeo.

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PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE File

Jackson resident Colter Watsabaugh tries to hold on as Lolly Pop spins, tossing the young bull rider to the arena floor before the required 8 seconds.

PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE File

2014 Teton County Rodeo Queen Desiree Bridges runs the American Flag around the arena at the start of a Wednesday evening rodeo.

PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE File

Erin Heffron double checks her bling during last-minute preparations before the 2009 Teton County Fair Rodeo Queen Pageant.

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JACKSON HOLE RODEO seeks an

“HONEST BULL”

By Michael Polhamus

A

winning ride on a rodeo horse or bull depends as much on the stock as it does on the rider, which is why the person who selects the animals is a critical part of the show.

At the Jackson Hole Rodeo this responsibility has been entrusted to the Wilson family. Brandon Wilson is one of three brothers who manage the task.

Wilson rode broncos in high school and college (“I got on a whole lot more than I ever rode,” he said), and taking on stock procurement for the Jackson Hole rodeo was “a dream come true,” he said.

A fifth-generation Jackson Hole native, Wilson said that when he grew up most of his friends lived on ranches or farms.

“It wasn’t a question of if you were going to rodeo, it was a question of what [event] you were going to do,” he said.

Things have changed since then.

Today the majority of Jackson’s young people haven’t been around horses or cattle, Wilson said.

That’s one reason it’s important not to get overzealous animals, he said, and it’s one reason the Wilson family got involved in procuring rodeo stock in 2010.

“There was no great beginner stock around,” he said. “There wasn’t nothing there that was really ideal to get a start.

We felt there was a real need for that.”

That is an important factor for Wilson and his family as they seek out horses and cattle, he said.

The Wilsons don’t raise their own rodeo animals. Instead they buy them, because they’re looking for a special kind of animal — not too wild and not too tame.

“We’re out there looking for riderfriendly stock that’ll provide a show for the spectators but also provide a platform for the guy that’s trying to learn how to ride,” Wilson said.

In practical terms, he said, “that’s something that doesn’t have a whole lot of tricks.

“Animals have a lot of tricks to them,” Wilson said. “We want what we call an honest horse or bull — something that’s not tricky, that just bucks.”

Riders earn points both from the quality of their ride and from the quality of their animal, Wilson said, which is why pro rodeo riders want tricky or “rank” animals.

“They want horses that’ll go to the national finals — they want the superstars,” he said. “I want the horse that’ll make a superstar.”

At the same time, Wilson said, the horses he selects need to want to buck.

“I can’t make a horse buck,” he said.

“He’s got to have the desire to buck, and really love it, or [have] a hatred to be ridden.”

Everything a rider does in the arena mimics what a rider does to break, or tame, a horse, he said, so the ideal rodeo horse or bull must love bucking or hate being ridden in order to counteract this tendency.

That’s why Wilson said his family runs one of the foremost animal rescue operations around — “because there’s horses out there that’ll never allow themselves to be tamed, and because if they won’t allow themselves to be tamed they won’t be good for riding.

“The ones you know will never stop bucking, we’ll usually buy them,” he said.

Rodeo livestock generally enjoy longer >> continued on page 20

BRADLY J. BONER / NEWS&GUIDE File

A rodeo family, Brandon, Phil and Bode Wilson unwind after another successful show at Jackson Hole Rodeo.

2015 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

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lives than most ranch animals, Wilson said.

Most breeding bulls are past their prime after only a few years, because the longer they remain with a herd the greater the chances that they will interbreed.

Wilson said he’s got rodeo horses that are more than 20 years old and at least two bulls that are more than 13 years old.

Good rodeo bulls make bad steaks, too, because they’re so athletic, Wilson said.

For all these reasons the wayward animals that aren’t quite wild enough to make it in the big leagues find a welcome home at the Jackson Hole rodeo.

“We’re about the only outlet for these animals,” Wilson said.

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2015 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

By Johanna Love

D

uring McKenna Schroeder’s first rodeo, a friend strapped the 5-year-old’s feet into the stirrups with rubber bands “just in case.”

Although she had only practiced at a walk, McKenna was inspired by older girls. She kicked the aging horse, Gracie, into a run and flew around the course. The rubber bands did their job and the slight, red-headed preschooler was hooked.

“I really like going fast,” said McKenna. Now 12, she has been competing against adult barrel racers for several years. She has earned a couple dozen buckles and a saddle so far.

At the Jackson Hole Rodeo this summer, McKenna should be one to beat. The middle schooler’s best time is 16.8 seconds, and she won the local rodeo’s open class barrel racing in 2013 and 2014.

Her partner in the arena is Beamer, a quarter horse just a year older than she is.

At 15.2 hands, he’s leggy, just like she is. McKenna has shot

up to 5-foot-8 already.

Beamer was raised on Fall Creek Road by Delbert Hindman and put through his paces by Jodi Tafoya Edwards, who sold him to the Schroeder family six years ago. It was a big step

up from Gracie to Beamer, but the faster horse seemed to understand the tiny girl perched on his back.

“He was a lot of horse,” McKenna’s mother, Anna Schroeder, said, “but he’s come down to her level.”

Beamer has matched his speed to McKenna’s skills.

“Every year their time goes down by seconds,” Anna Schroeder said. “Beamer’s been consistent year after year with her. They’ve done >> continued on page 22

BRADLY J. BONER / NEWS&GUIDE

McKenna Schroeder takes her horse, Beamer, for a stroll south of Jackson in early May. Best friends and respected teammates, girl and horse teach other as they practice barrel racing.

2015 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

22

>> continued from page 21

this together.”

When she’s warming up for her event, McKenna and Beamer have a chat.

“I talk to him like I talk to myself: ‘It’s OK, we’ve done this before,’” McKenna said. “Sometimes he gets jumpy in the gate. I try to talk to him, calm him down. Then it’s, ‘Come on, let’s go,’ and I kick him up.”

As a reward when Beamer does well, McKenna will take his saddle off right away and let him roll in the dirt of the indoor Heritage Arena.

McKenna also is a competitive downhill ski racer, but when she’s not training for that, the responsibility of feeding the family’s horses is hers. She doesn’t always want to go out in the rain or snow to feed. But she has a special bond with Beamer.

“I love him so much,” McKenna said. “He’s like my best friend. Sometimes he can get in one of his moods, but everyone has those.”

Her father, Tony Schroeder, works as a farrier and has seen a lot of horseflesh. He said Beamer, when paired with McKenna, is as reliable as a horse comes.

“You don’t see too many kids have the bond and trust they have with their horses,” Tony Schroeder said. “You know how much I don’t worry about the two of them? How much confidence I have in him?”

Next on McKenna’s agenda is learning how to rope.

“Beamer has to teach her how to rope,” Tony Schroeder said. “He knows how, she doesn’t.”

LIFE

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1325 U.S. Highway 89 307.733.0201

What a beautiful choice

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(Psalm 127:3)

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2015 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

23

BLOOD

on the

SADDLE

By Jason Suder

I

t comes as no shock that roughstock riders are tough.

They ride when they’re sick or just days after surgery. They get bucked, trampled, tossed, torn and all around beat up. But still, hard as a coffin nail, these cowboys get up, dust themselves off and hop back in the saddle with stoic pride.

In all of Tyler Viles’ many years of bull riding and rodeo announcing he has seen plenty of violence.

“From a cowboy standpoint,” he said, “I’ve seen guys knocked out, broken arms, broken legs.”

He has even seen things turn mortal. But when he ties down on a one-ton brute, dwelling on the threat is akin to inviting it.

“I know the risk is there, and I know full well something bad can happen,” he said, “but I don’t expect something bad to happen. … It’s not something I think about.”

That is not to say he suffers less than others do.

“Last summer,” he said, “I hurt my wrist a little bit. I had to take a week off because I literally could not close my hand.”

His best friend, Levi Wilson, broke the wrist on his free hand at a high school rodeo in the spring of 2014, went into surgery and was back riding the next week.

Chad Raver has a similar story. Aside from a litany of injuries — including

broken ribs, torn meniscus and myriad fractures — in 2008 he tied down with an infamous monster.

“I didn’t really want to get on him to be honest with you,” he said, “but you don’t turn down bulls.”

A few minutes later, the bull reared back in the chute and toppled onto its back — with Raver still attached. The hospital reported a jaw broken in four places and a chin gash open to the bone.

His jaw could not be wired shut until three days later.

“If it wasn’t for the helmet I really

honestly believe I wouldn’t be here today,” Raver said.

Still, two weeks later, with that wired jaw, he was back on a bull.

During rodeo season St. John’s Medical Center sees at least one significant injury after each rodeo, hospital spokeswoman Karen Connelly said.

“Typically what we see are injuries from falling such as broken hands and wrists,” she said. “But we also see injuries related to being stepped on, so those would be injuries to head, chest, >> continued on page 24

PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE File

Bull rider Cody Moucha, of Cody, is attacked by the bull he was just bucked off during the 2006 Jackson High School Rodeo at Teton County Fairgrounds.

2015 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

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Come Visit Us at the

famous

BRADLY J. BONER / NEWS&GUIDE File

Blood streams from Mark Wilson’s forehead after he was tossed from a bronc while riding in the bareback event at the Jackson Hole Rodeo. Wilson had no injuries other than the cut above his eye. “I don’t know if it’ll make me look any worse,” Wilson said.

“I was pretty beat up already.”

! !

>> continued from page 23

abdomen — those types of things.”

She called these life-threatening injuries. But there has been a reduction in such incidents since the Professional Bull Riders Association instituted a requirement for anyone who turned 18 after Oct. 15, 2012, to wear a helmet, and other protective gear is now common for riders.

Not everyone wears a helmet, but everyone wears a protective vest. At the 1989 Cheyenne Frontier Days, Lane Frost took a hit to the ribs after an 85-point ride and later died from his injuries. That led to bull riders around the world wearing padded Kevlar. It’s your choice to wear the garment, Viles said, but if you don’t the rodeo’s insurance will not cover you.

“You’re taking the risk knowing full-well,” he said.

But every rider also knows full-well the inherent danger of the sport. Some love the adrenaline, and others love the challenge. The lifestyle is not for the meek or timid, Raver said. Viles agreed.

“I love it,” Viles said, “It’s hard. There’s nothing easy about it, but that’s what draws me to it.”

!

!

PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE File

Ty Hawks slips off his sheep during a mutton busting event at the final Jackson Hole Rodeo of the 2014 season. Despite getting dragged a short distance by the farm animal, Hawks walked away uninjured.

273529

25

2015 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

RODEOtwo for

I

n a flash of hair and mud, a steer bursts through a metal gate and barrels straight across the rodeo arena.

An instant later, two horsemen, lassos in hand, are hot on his trail.

The first lets loose his rope, hooking the beast around the horns. The second aims his low and brings the animal to the ground, victorious.

Team roping is one of the more intricate rodeo sports. It involves five living, breathing organisms: two thoroughly trained horses, a pair of humans working in coordination and one ornery steer.

The entire competition takes place within the span of a few seconds and involves some handy rope work, especially from the lead horseman — also known as the header.

Just ask Justin Rowe, an 18-year-old who competes in the Jackson Hole Rodeo

and plans to take his team roping skills to Montana State University next year.

“The header is basically like the quarterback of the sport,” Rowe said. “My job is to rope the horns and set up the entire run for the heeler.”

The heeler, as the term suggests, is responsible for the wrangling the back end of the target.

But the header has more weight on his shoulders, leaving little room for error. If he or she misses, the round is essentially over. Though it’s legal to hook the steer around the neck or around one horn and the nose, a clean shot is preferred. The header must also turn the direction of the steer before his teammate can attempt a second lasso.

If the header is successful, the heeler gets a chance to finish the round by lassoing the animal’s back legs. If only one leg is caught, the team gets a few penalty

seconds added onto its time.

Once a steer is roped, the cowboy must loop his rope around his saddle horn — an action known as a dally in rodeo — and the pair must move their horses to face each other, pulling the rope tight and stopping the clock.

All that coordination amounts to a fair amount of teamwork, especially in comparison to other rodeo events. Much of the action that goes on in the arena is individual competition, but not team roping.

“You have to have a good relationship with your partner,” Rowe said. “You both have to work together to create the run.”

The horses have to be highly trained as well.

“They’re athletes, just like the people riding them,” Rowe said.

It’s a beautiful thing when it all >> continued on page 26

PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE File

Tanner Judge, left, and Shane Scott chase down a steer at the Jackson Hole Rodeo. The team ropers hit their targets with a time of 13.95 seconds in 2011.

2015 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM >> continued from page 25

comes together, he said.

And the sport is a fun one for spectators, too, especially if they learn the basics, Jackson Hole Rodeo owner Phil Wilson said.

“It’s very, very popular right now,” he said.

A good run for a team roping unit, which should last about 8 seconds, involves a mix of laser-like accuracy and cooperation, he said “If they have learned each other’s habits and have roped together for a while, it makes a better team,” Wilson said.

26

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Same-Day Appointments and Walk-ins Welcome - Walk-in care clinic for acute illnesses, minor PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE File

J.T. Statter, right, holds up his end of the bargain by taking the bull by the horns as Shane Lucas prepares to go for the legs while team roping during the high school rodeo at the Teton County Fairgrounds.

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2015 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

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Vine S

t.

TOWNOFJACKSON

20

Kelly Ave.

Pearl Ave.

8

Willow St.

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

King St.

9

4 13 1 Cache Dr.

tC

ree k

Snow King Ave.

14 Glenwood St.

Millward St.

JH RODEO

E. Broadway

Jackson St.

3

Flat C

reek

Dr. ow

Sn ve. gA

Kin

23

18

3

ad W. Bro

way

N

Virginian Ln.

22 19 Scott Ln.

pg 2

2. Broken Spur

pg 3

3. MacPhail’s Burgers

pg 5

4. Wyoming Outfitters

pg 6

5. Jackson Hole Historical Society & Museum

pg 8

6. Jackson Hole Hat Company

pg 8

7. Big R Ranch & Home

pg 10

8. Cafe Genevieve

pg 10

9. Jackson Hole Trail Rides

pg 11

10. Snow King Mountain

pg 12

11. McDonald’s

pg 14

12. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort

pg 14

13. Jackson Bootlegger

pg 15 & 16

14. Jackson Hole Real Estate Associates — Gary Moss

pg 20

15. Jackson Hole Feed & Pet Supply

pg 20

16. Quiznos

pg 22

17. Right to Life

pg 22

18. The Virginian Saloon

pg 24

19. The Gun Barrel Steakhouse

pg 26

20. St. John’s Medical Center

pg 26

21. Teton Motors

pg 28

22. Boot Barn

pg 30

23. Jackson Hole Whitewater

pg 31

7

21 Powederhorn Ln.

7

Loop

2

16

15

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE JACKSON HOLE RODEO, VISIT JHRODEO.COM.

Pub Place

Park

Eagle Village Shopping Plaza

High School Rd

South

12

17 Meadowlark Ln.

To Teton Village

Maple Way

Buffalo Way

9

11

To Driggs Idaho

Fla

Deloney Ave.

6

Gill Ave.

5

Town Square

Hansen Ave.

Center St.

10

1. Shades of Jackson Hole

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