WAURIKA —
On first blush, the third Waurika Chamber Ranch Rodeo ain’t your granddad’s rodeo.
On second blush, perhaps the format of a ranch rodeo is something your granddad — and even the modern cowboy — understands very well. Unlike what’s become “traditional” rodeo, a ranch rodeo is based on the type of day-to-day activities working cowboys have experienced since the dawn of cattle ranching.
“People have really enjoyed seeing a ranch rodeo, instead of the kind of rodeo they’re used to. A ranch rodeo is different, and I get a lot of comments from people who come out that they like it,” Chamber President Brad Scott said, about the unique, five-event ranch rodeo format that will have a two-day run at Coyote Hills Arena on Friday and Saturday.
Here’s what goes on during the performances that begin at 8 p.m. both days:
n Ranch bronc riding: This is a familiar event at any rodeo and is the core of the ranch rodeo format. It reinforces the relationship between the cowboy and the horse. This is a timed event, with riders trying to stay aboard a bronco for the full 8 seconds.
n Wild cow milking: When a heifer stopped producing milk during calving season, somebody had to check the cow for milk and get it to the young’un. In this timed event, three cowboys contain a heifer and one of them tries to get the cow to squirt milk into a long neck bottle.
n Ranch team sorting: Another timed event, this is a basic cowboy function, separating certain cows or calves from a herd.
n Team doctoring: This event simulates the process of a cowboy recognizing a sick animal, determining its treatment and the roping the cow to give it medication. It’s another timed event.
n Team branding: Determining ownership remains crucial to cattle ranching, and this timed highlights another basic — the spring roundup. All the cowboys involved have to show their skills in riding, roping, sorting and handling a calf, which is then “branded” with paint or flour.
Last year, the format for the rodeo was changed from a two-day event in which 12 teams competed for two go-rounds in each event. Expanding the field, there were 22 total teams entered, with 11 different teams competing each night.
Scott said the new format was well accepted and is being repeated again for the seventh Chamber Ranch Rodeo.
“It worked great last year, and that’s what we’ll continue to do again this year. Everybody just competes once, and then we take the best times and scores from the two days to determine the places,” he explained.
With the new format in place in 2011, the stranglehold Texas teams had on the rodeo was finally broken. Texas-based ranches had won the first five championships, but last July, Buford Ranches-Purebred Division of Welch became the first Oklahoma ranch to claim a crown.
The new format also increased the winnings paid to the top four teams. There were 22 total teams a year ago, each ranch paying a $1,000 entry fee. That meant Buford Ranches claimed a top prize of $7,600.
“The pay-outs are again going to be 40 percent for first, 40 percent for second, 20 percent for third and 10 percent for fourth. That’s a nice prize,” said Scott, adding that the team winning the Waurika rodeo also gets an automatic qualification for the Working Ranch Cowboy Association National Rodeo, which is held in Amarillo, Texas.
Crowds have also taken to the Waurika Ranch Rodeo. What turned into the hottest summer on record in Oklahoma took some toll on the attendance in 2011, but Scott said, “We’re expecting a bigger crowd this year. Our crowds have always been good, even last year, when you consider how hot it was.”
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Related Photos
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Cowboys make preparations in the shoot at the Waurika Chamber Ranch Rodeo last year. File Photo
Waurika Chamber offers twist on traditional rodeo
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