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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2012)
6 AUGUST 1,2012 Smoke Signals By Ron Karten Smoke Signals tlaff writer With events starting on Friday, July 20, and continuing Saturday and Sunday afternoons, the 2012 Spirit Mountain Stampede looked like the best ever attended, said Trib al Elder and Rodeo Special Event Board Vice Chair Dale Langley. "We got a good crowd today," said Langley on Saturday. "The most ever, and it's a good day for it." The stands were almost full and included Tribal Council members and families, as well as a group of eight St. Paul High School exchange students from Taiwan. The weather remained in the comfortable 70s. Langley and Rodeo Special Event Board Chair Harold Lyon, also a Tribal Elder, and many other volun teers put in "a couple hundred hours" of work getting the grounds tilled, groomed, domed and raked away from the fences before the show. Saturday night, they wet down the grounds and Sunday morning they groomed the ground again, said Lyon. Preparations underway since the beginning of the year also included pulling together food and merchan dise vendors and, said board member Jim Holmes, "many new sponsors." Sponsors included DiabetOmics (working with the Tribe's Wellness services); Mattecheck & Associates (the Tribe's benefits broker); Hays Companies (a broker for prop erty and casualty insurance); Les Schwab; Shasta Administrators (Tribal health insurance); Stuck Electric; Doris Rose, CPA; and Dave Gunderson, who works with with DiabetOmics but also made a personal donation. Volunteers worked right up to the Stampede's opening, said board member Joy Burcham. "Confusion reigns!" is how she put it. Other rodeo board members in cluded Tribal Elder Ed Ashman. Holmes, son of Tribal Restoration pioneer Merle Holmes, awarded the Bull Riding trophy at the end of competition on Sunday. His family sponsors a trophy and buckle each year in honor of his father. The Merle Holmes Memorial Cup is en graved and stays at the Tribe while the buckle goes with winner. "Dad was always a big rodeo fan," t 4 pD1 L if 8 s h :ar 6? p lr ;fef (-m fe) yjl jss jar-, .. -fc Photos by Michelle Alalmo I 1 Rodeo Special Event Board m M- mm m mm Bareback Broncs 1 - Evan Miller 2 - Tony Buckman 3 - Nick Gutzwiler Saddle Broncs 1 - Mark Gage 2 -Jacob Stacy 3 - Charlie Barker Bull Riding 1 - Andy Crozier 2 - Klay Lanham 3 - Josh Dollins Calf Roping 1 - Jason Minor 2 (tie) - Jordan Weaver and Kurtis Barry Breakaway Roping 1 - Caleb McMillian 2 -Shelly Treat 3 - Jordan Crossley Steer Wrestling 1 - Taylor Gregg . 2 - B.J. Taruscio 'j; '' ."''''. 3 - Christian Radabaugh Team Roping 1 - Brian Reayfianner Lurrell 2 - Tanner PatzkeQuade Patzke 3 - Jason DetringNick Chapman Barrel Racing 1 - Kayla Gregory 2 - Jordan Crossley 3 - Brooke Thomas Rodeo Special Event Board members, from left, Jim Holmes, Tribal Elder Harold Lyon and Joy Burcham pause during the national anthem at the beginning of Spirit Mountain Stampede at Spirit Mountain Rodeo Grounds on the Tribal campus on Saturday, July 21 . VisitiheJribi page to see more nore photos said Holmes. "He really enjoyed the bull riding. "We approached the rodeo board . a year after (Merle Holmes) died, and said, 'If we purchased a trophy, would they take it on in honor of , him?' and they said they would." 1 This year's buckle was designed by Columbus, Mont.-based Mon tana Silversmiths. The Stampede was sanctioned by . the Northwest Professional Rodeo Association. Howell Rodeo, out of Veneta, provided the animal stock. . Cody Hodge announced the show. Sheep for a new event this year, Mutton Bustin', were provided by Wool Busters out of Lebanon. Spirit Mountain Casino provided raffle prizes for a couple of week ends at the casino and dinners for two. The Ross Coleman Invitational in Molalla donated four pairs of tickets for that event. Winners' purses were based on entry fees plus prize money added by Spirit Mountain Casino, includ ing $1,500 for timed events and $2,000 for the rough stock events. Langley and Lyon both rode horses throughout their youth. "Wish I was 45 years younger," said Lyon during the show, thinking about riding again. He rode horses, he said, from the time he was 3. "Wish I was 60 years younger," said Langley. B - . ,.... . . . .... , . . . .......... Brooke Thomas, of Okanogan, Wash., rounds a barrel on her horse during the barrel racing competition of Spirit Mountain Stampede held at Spirit Mountain Rodeo Grounds on the Tribal campus on Saturday, July 21 . Thomas placed third in the event. '2' ;:yn, , . Buck Sprague, of Echo, competes in the saddle bronc event of Spirit Mountain Stampede at the Spirit Mountain Rodeo Grounds on the Tribal campus on Saturday, July 21.
