August 8, 1990 - Morrow County Fair & Rodeo - Page 5
PRCA coming back
A vision to bring a better rodeo for
the community sparked Jerry Gen
try’s committment to put on a pro
fessional rodeo.
"Rodeo is one of the only profes
sional sports that a small communi
ty can host in their town,” stated
Gentry.
PRCA rodeo is no stranger to
Gentry,as he grew up with watching
professional rodeo each year at the
Morrow County Fair and Rodeo.
Gentry, himself is a member of the
PRCA, has competed for years.
Heppner’s last pro rodeo was 13
years ago when the increasing cost,
spurred by lack of support, forced
rodeo to fall back into the amateur
levels.
Gentry’s committment started in
January as he along with rodeo com
mittee members John Moyer, Sally
Ingraham. John Kilkenny, Mike
Proctor, John Schiller, Wayne Evans
and Larry Scroggins set out to raise
money to put on a pro rodeo. Their
first task was to raise a big enough
purse to attract cowboys.
“We felt if we could raise $1,000
per event we would bring some top
notch cowboys into Heppner,” add
ed Gentry.
Seven businesses rose to the occa
sion and contributed the $1,000
purse: Morrow County Grain
Growers-steer wrestling; Les
Schwab-bull riding; Hamms-
Graybeal Distributing-barrel racing;
Seitz Aviation-saddle bronc; Miller
Ranchers-team roping; Eric
Anderson-calf roping; and Hawkeye
Construction-bareback riding.
“We had these seven sponsors by
April first, putting to rest rumors
that the purse was too high,” noted
Gentry.
Justin Ropers.
For more than just rodeo.
Justin introduced the first Roper boot to offer classic
styling with superior comfort and fit. Since then, rodeo
riders, workers, outdoorsmen and people of all walks of life
have turned to the Justin Roper for its unduplicated crafts
manship. Justin. For more than just rodeo.
The next undertaking for the rodeo
committee was to raise the funds to
cover the cost of the rodeo, since a
pro rodeo is more expensive to run.
The committee sent out a letter to
330 registered brand owners in the
county asking them to commit $20
to the rodeo. Over 60 responded and
now their brands will appear in the
official program. Additional funds
were raised by selling ads in the
program.
The rodeo committee also
pocketed over $4,000 from the St.
Patricks Day beer stand. Now that
funding was secure, the members
tackled another challenge to change
the set-up of the arena.
“We felt the present area was too
big and made the show drag on. We
purchased new panels and a roping
chute,” Gentry added. "The rodeo
should run smoother and be more
exciting to watch. Bleachers also will
be installed closer to the rodeo ac
tion.”
With the community support, the
committee has raised over $12,000
to finance the rodeo. Gentry is quick
to give credit to the community,
businesses and the fair board who
have been very supportive. Gentry
said he has learned alot about rodeo
production and dealing with people
and thinks every cowboy who com
petes should help produce a rodeo.
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