Wednesday, June 3, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
17
Sisters Rodeo enters the big leagues
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
The rodeo of 1980 marked
the beginning of the modern
era in the history of Sisters
Rodeo, as they opened
their new permanent rodeo
grounds, four miles southeast
of town off Highway 20. That
year there were three rodeo
shows, rather than the two of
the early days, with an addi-
tion of a Friday night perfor-
mance, which allowed 5,000
more people to experience
the excitement of rodeo.
They still had both Friday
and Saturday night dances at
the elementary school gymna-
sium as well as the Buckaroo
Breakfast on Sunday morn-
ing, the wild horse race, and
the wild animal scramble.
Rabbits and chickens were
released in the arena to be
captured by the children.
They were allowed to keep
the animals they captured.
The arena had been pur-
chased three years earlier at
cost by Sisters9 John Leavitt,
long time team and calf
roper and proprietor of the
then Leavitt9s Western Wear
store. Leavitt in turn sold the
arena equipment to the rodeo
association, with his being
paid out of revenue gener-
ated from the <Biggest Little
Show in the World.= Leavitt
went on to serve as Rodeo
Association president in 1990
and 991 and again in 1997
and 998.
The entire spring of 1980,
right up to rodeo weekend,
work parties were held every
Saturday, starting at 8 a.m., in
order to finish the construc-
tion of the arena fence.
That first rodeo on the
permanent grounds set a high
bar for all the years to follow.
They enjoyed near perfect
weather and arena in perfect
condition. Record crowds
attended each day with stand-
ing room only on Saturday
and Sunday. Contestants from
all over the United States
competed for about $20,000
in prize money.
From 1980 forward, suc-
cess seemed to breed success
as the rodeo kept growing in
prestige and recognition. In
the early 1980s, Sisters joined
the International Professional
Rodeo Association. World
champions in the IPRA com-
peted every year in Sisters.
By that point, the Sisters
Rodeo Association had about
60 members and an experi-
enced group of volunteers.
The year 1988, the first
time Glenn Miller served
as association president, the
association attained the big
prize 4 acceptance of mem-
bership in the highly sought-
after Professional Rodeo
Cowboy Association 4
where they joined the likes of
St. Paul and Pendleton rodeos.
This distinction was an indi-
cation of the impressive repu-
tation Sisters had built over
50 years of quality rodeo.
Since that time the asso-
ciation has continued to
improve the quality of the
physical rodeo grounds.
The land near the entrance
gate to the grounds has been
meticulously manicured to
provide shaded areas of lawn
where contestants are able to
camp with their horses and
motorhomes.
Not that long ago, the
Plaza Level seats were added
directly above the chutes pro-
viding an eagle9s eye view of
the contestants and animals.
<Miller9s Place= provides
food and drink on the Plaza.
A fourth rodeo perfor-
mance on Saturday night was
added and about six years ago
they added the Wednesday
night Extreme Bulls show.
The current available seating
capacity is in the neighbor-
hood of 7,200 since the con-
struction of the Plaza Level
seats.
In 2009, Sisters Rodeo, as
a member of the Columbia
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
Glenn Miller, center, served many years as Sisters Rodeo Association President and has been a guiding force in
making the Sisters Rodeo “The Biggest Little Show in the World.”
River Circuit of rodeos
throughout the Pacific
Northwest and Northern
California, was recognized
as the Rodeo of the Year.
It has also been featured in
The New York Times and on
The Late Show with David
Letterman, as well as numer-
ous local programs.
The quality of the rodeo
stock procured, and the size
of the purses offered every
year by the Sisters Rodeo,
attracts the best in the sport.
The Rodeo offers the rich-
est purse in the nation for
the second weekend in June
and the second highest in the
nation for the entire month of
June. World champions return
to our small town year after
year.
With nearly 200 dedicated
members who support the
rodeo in numerous meaning-
ful and necessary ways, the
Sisters Rodeo Association
from its earliest days forward
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
A dedicated all-volunteer association handles every chore, from maintaining the Rodeo grounds to actually
managing the big event.
has been a valuable member
of the community by promot-
ing Sisters and the rodeo,
making Sisters a destination
that attracts visitors again
and again 4 visitors who
eat in our restaurants, stay in
our lodging, and shop in our
stores.
In addition to the mem-
bers and volunteers, a great
deal of credit for the contin-
ued success of the rodeo over
the last 80 years is owed to
the dedicated leadership of
rodeo presidents and board
members and their passion
for the rodeo. Glenn Miller,
local contractor, has faithfully
served the rodeo for 40 years,
20 years as the board presi-
dent from 1999-2019 and two
previous years as president in
1988 and 989.
The former associa-
tion president cited the
opportunity to meet so many
interesting people whom he
really enjoyed and respected
as one of the reasons for
his longevity with the
association.
<What I did with the rodeo
was so far away from my
everyday construction busi-
ness, it was a nice change,=
he said.
Miller credits the contin-
ued success of the rodeo to
the continuity of members,
volunteers, and leadership,
allowing the whole organiza-
tion to run like a well-oiled
machine.
The rodeo9s absence from
this year9s summer calen-
dar will leave a big hole in
Sisters, but no one doubts the
organization9s resilience.
The community will be
back for the 80th Sisters
Rodeo June 9-13, 2021!
N U G G E T F L AS H BAC K