Oregon daily emerald., July 11, 1978, Page 4, Image 4

Round-up draws horses, riders
Fairgrounds hosts rodeo menagerie
By RICHARD WIENS
Of the Emerald
Last week, Eugene played host to an en
tire sub-culture as 252 cowboys arrived
with their motor-homes and horse trailers
for the four-day Emerald Empire Round
Up.
In search of bucks, cowboys travel
around the western United States and
Canada with their families or girl friends.
They pay their own traveling expenses and
equipment costs, and even have to shell out
entry fees for each rodeo they compete in.
Only the very best make substantial
salaries.
“Nobody’s getting rich in this business,”
says Peter Powell, a promotions official for
the Eugene rodeo. He cites as an example
Danny Torricellas, who is seventh in the
nation in all-around earnings, yet has made
only $19,000 this year.
“It’s truly a sport that is still done because
people like to do it,” says Powell.
People apparently like to watch it too,
because the fairground bleachers were fil
led Thursday for the second night of com
petition. The audience was dominated by
straight-looking, middle-aged folks, most of
whom probably came from rural areas out
side the city.
By the time the competition started, most
of the crowd was hooting for action. A
greased pig chase held before the rodeo
was a dismal flop. First off, the piggies were
not greased. When let loose, they congre
gated near a fence and refused to run when
the stampeding contestants came racing
toward them. It was over in a matter of
seconds, as the fastest runner scooped up
the squealing porkers.
After that, piped-in country music was the
only entertainment.
“In Salt Lake City, Utah
He told me that he loved me
But even then I knew
Photo by Mofry Cetnik
The horse probably presented a bigger challenge than the ground, but this rider made
sure his stirrups were the right length before his run at the Emerald Empire Round-up
Thursday.
David Oqden Stiers
co-star of MAS H
Major Charles Winchester’
ON STAGE with
George and Priscilla Lauris
NOW PLAYING JULY 11, 12, 13, 14 & 15
At the air-conditioned Oregon Repertory Theater
2nd Floor Atrium Building
Curtain at 8 p.m.
Admission is $6.50 by advance reservation,
$7.50 at the door.
Tickets available at Skeie’s Downtown 345-0354,
Skeie’s Valley River 342-4496, Van Duyn’s
Interior Accessories SouthTowne Shops 686-9276 and
Oregon Repertory Theater Downtown Atrium 99 W. 10th 485-1946
He was not the settling kind
Rodeo cowboy, he’ll never settle down.”
After a taped invocation prayed for “the
cowboys in cowboy heaven,” a bareback
rider mounted a bronc in stall number one.
He tightened the reins and wedged his left
hand into the hand-hold of the bareback
rigging. Then he waited, mentally preparing
himself for various sorts of rides.
“There's endless possibilities of what the
horse can do,” says Barry Ruda, a
bareback rider from Baker, Ore. “He might
go right, left or not buck at all. You have no
control over where the horse goes.”
The gate flew open, and the cowboy was
on the first wild ride of the night. Attempting
to exploit the bronc's bucking motion, he
dug his spurs into the horse’s shoulders
each time it kicked back its hind legs. For a
moment he seemed in control. Then, on the
fourth buck, his jerky ride came to an abrupt
halt as he crashed to the ground.
The fallen cowboy rose slowly and
walked out of the arena. He was sore all
over, but especially in the thighs, butt,
crotch and right arm. Meanwhile, the furi
ous bronc continued bucking until the
bareback rigging was pulled off of him.
The riders were judged half on their own
efforts and half on the performance of the
horse. To be judged at all, they needed to
stay on the horse eight seconds. Thursday
night, the first four riders failed to do so.
Unlike most sporting events, there is no
home team to cheer for in rodeo. The crowd
cheers the few Eugene cowboys loudest,
but every rider staying on his bronc for eight
seconds receives a noisy ovation.
After bareback riding comes caff roping.
The cowboys are on more cooperative
horses in this event, and when their stall
gate opens they gallop after a fleeing young
cow. After giving the calf a whiplash by las
soing it around the neck, the rider dis
mounts and ties the calf’s legs as fast as
possible.
This event stems from branding season
on ranches, when cattle must be harm
lessly incapacitated for branding. Indeed,
“everything done out here is born out of
work on the ranch,” says Powell.
(Continued on Page 5)
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