At the Emerald Empire Roundup
over the weekend, the Emerald kept a
diary on rodeo cowboy Jim Kittleson.
6:35p.m. — Jim Kittleson. 38, saddles
his horse, a 5-year-old named Homer
Homer's saddle is embossed with the
title of Northwest Rodeo Association
Best Bulldogger 1972. Kittleson rides
across the Fairgrounds field to the
arena
Involved with rodeo since his so
phomore year in high school in Eas
tern Montana, Kittleson moved to
Oregon when he was 18 to shear
sheep He gave up bronc riding after
his first marriage 18 years ago “I
couldn't afford to get crippled," he
jokes. He's been bulldogging — wres
"The big thing to worry about is
your horse ducking out from the
steer,” Kittleson says On the other
side of the steer you need a good rider
— called a hazer — to keep the steer in
line.
Kittleson and his partner, Tom
Findley, also competed in the first
round of team roping on Thursday
Tonight they are in the second round
Kittleson is the team's header — it’s
his job to rope the steer around the
neck Findley is the healer — he’s
supposed to lasso the steer’s hind
legs. Take only one leg, and you’re
penalized five seconds
Although Kittleson and Findley
roped cleanly on Thursday, their time
drawn steer number 98, which in a
previous round was taken in 7.8
seconds
Before leaving the arena, Kittleson
tells a buddy that he’s now ranked fifth
in bulldogging. "Sitting pretty, but
won’t win a dime,” he says with a grin.
Outside, Kittleson says his bulldog
ging days are far from over — bull
doggers can get as old as 4? And, as
a roper, he can always move on to
senior events.
7:45 p.m. — The roping steers huddle
in a corral beside the arena entrance.
They are fitted with leather straps
behind their horns for protection
against rope burns. Kittleson, spotting
number 98 in a tag on the ear of a
sandy-colored steer, jumps down into
the corral to check the width of its
horns. They’re average-sized, and
should present no special problem.
7:50 p.m. — Hat clasped over his
heart, Kittleson stands for the national
anthem
9:20 p.m. — With a rodeo glove — like
a batting glove — on his right hand,
Kittleson backs Oakie against a
foam-padded wall. He smiles at Tom
on the other side of the steer's chute
A cow^jpy stands behind the steer,
twisting the steer’s tail, getting him in
the mood to go. At the head of the
chute, another cowboy looks to
Kittleson.
Oakie settles in, his hindquarters
braced against the padding Kittleson
throws his chin up. The chute man
releases the gate
Oakie springs forward. Homer
comes out the other side Kittleson's
throw is wide He takes the steer
around the belly The team records
“No Time.”
9:38 p.m. — Sitting back on the fence
rail near the corrals, Kittleson chuck
les as he takes a ribbing about being a
belly-roper His wife comes up to him
and jokes, "Boy, you got him.”
10:10p.m. — In the parking lot, Homer
backs off as he's loaded into his
trailer Kittleson carries some gear to
a friend’s rig in preparation for the
long drive to Prineviiie for another
rodeo. Someone wishes him "Good
luck in Prineviiie "
"Better be better there than here,”
Kittleson says "Here it weren’t noth
ing.”
Story by William Kogut
Photos by Mark Pyncs
tling down steers — and team roping
for the last 15 years, he says
Kittleson builds horse trailers and
shoes horses in Coburg. Rodeo is
only a hobby for him, but during the
summer rodeo season he practices
his events five nights a week This
year he has made $1,200 in five
rodeos He'll go to 12 or 15 rodeos by
the end of the year, he figures, mostly
in the Northwest
Because of an injury he suffered a
few years ago, Kittleson wears a mo
torcycle helmet when he bulldogs He
gets a lot of kidding from the other
cowboys about the helmet, but he still
wears it
Kittleson took his steer down in 5 3
seconds — a time good enough for
third place at that point in the compe
tition Only the top four finishers take
home prize money
was a high 13.9 seconds
6:55p.m. — Kittleson talks with friends
while Jackie, his wife, hands him the
canvas bag with his lariat. The lariat is
a special grade of unusually stiff nylon
rope
7:00 p.m. — Outside the building the
cowboys pay their fees for team rop
ing — $100 per man
Kittleson then checks the times
The best single time in the team rop
ing is 6.3 seconds. The best average
between two rides is about 14
seconds He figures the payoff at
about $520 per man for the winning
team
7:17 p.m. — In the arena, Kittleson
works out Homer Jackie rides with
him on the team's other horse, Oakie
. At 7 30, one of his three daughters
takes over for his wife Talking with a
friend. Kittleson says his team has
764 I 13th Avt> * K inko's • 344 -7894
China Blue
Restaurant
upstairs next to
the U of O Bookstore
Serving lunch from
11-4 • M-F
897 E. 13th Ave.
343-2832
New
(Ownership
Special
Perm *25°°
Reg. ‘40“°
Haircut aooo
Reg. *11“ °
Carol Hubbard
New Owner
20 W. 25th 142*7661