Page 10-Special EOton Morrow County Far & Rodeo • Heppner Gazette-Times. Wednesday, August 12,1998
Big Bend Stock will wow OTPR
The Coppertop Clown
1997 Bull of the Year, "Rapid Fire”, Big Bend Rodeo Co., not ridden successfully in 1997
Sankey of Cody, WY. She also
won the top-stock award in 1994.
It’s no surprise that Skitso Skoal
bucks with such great force. She
is the granddaughter of Sankey’s
famous sire Custer, and Rum and
Coke, another well-known bronc.
Skitso Skoal has also foaled two
colts and is pregnant with a third.
“I guess I’ve thought all along
she was an outstanding horse,”
Sankey said. “She never quits.”
Of the 100 riders who have
tried to ride Skitso the past three
years, only nine have been suc
cessful. The few cowboys who
rode the eight year old mare for
eight seconds usually received
scores over 80 points.
The top bucking bull of 1997
also belongs to Big Bend Rodeo
Company. Rapid Fire, a 1,600
pound red bull, was raised on
Katich Ranch in Keller, WA., and
comes from the same herd as fa
mous bulls Dog Face and Bear
Swawilla.
Known to go into a clockwise
spin immediately after he leaves
the chute, Rapid Fire is so fast no
one is completely sure what he
does to get the cowboys off his
back. “He does a little bit of ev
erything. He’s just real rank,”
Hutsell said.
Rapid Fire was not successfully
ridden in PRCA competition in
1997. The last cowboy to ride the
bull was David Foumier, who
scored 87 points on Rapid Fire
during the 1996 NFR.
In the fighting bull pen, the
meanest of the mean in 1997 was
Howdy Dooty of the Coyote Hills
Rodeo company of Hastings, OK.
The 1,250 pound Mexican
halfbreed blasts out of the chutes
low to the ground and looking for
a fight.
“The minute you turn him loose,
he’s going to be looking for some
one to hook,” said former bull
fighter Rex Dunn, owner of Coy
ote Hills Rodeo. And Howdy
Dooty is special in another way-
his owner is only six year old. The
bull is part of a pen that Dunn
gave to his son, Jace. “He’s as
excited as anyone about it,” Dunn
said about Jace.
Fair exhibits accepted Aug. 17
1997 PRCA Bareback Horse of the Year, “Skoal’s Spring Fling", Big Bend Rodeo Co.
By Carmen Polk
Pro Rodeo Sports News
In the world of professional
rodeo, not all of the stars wear
Wrangler jeans.
Some of the four-legged vari
ety prefer a saddle, a rigging or a
bull rope. Those stars are profes
sional rodeo’s iop bucking animals.
Each year, the Professional
Rodeo Cowboy’s Association rec
ognizes the sport's top bucking
stock. The award winners are
selected on their ability to carry
cowboys to high scores or buck
off cowboys who try to nde them.
The PRCA’s 1997 bareback
horse of the year is Skoal’s Spring
Fling, owned by Don Hutsell and
Sonny Riley of the Big Bend Ro
deo Company in Ritzville, WA.
Spring Fling, the daughter of
former NFR horse Spring Rose,
is a five year old brown mare who
was bom to buck. “She just kicks
real hard and jumps real high,”
Hutsell said. “They (cowboys) ei
ther win the rodeo on her or she
bucks them off.’’
Big Bend purchased Spring
Fling as a foal from the Snake
River Rodeo Company. At the
1997 DNCFR, she carried Clint
Corey to a record-setting 89 point
ride. “She could win a title as a
saddle bronc too, someday,”
Corey said. “She’s that caliber of
horse.”
The 1997 saddle bronc of the
year is the gray mare Skitso Skoal,
owned by stock contractor Ike
Fair time is here! Exhibits will
be accepted on Monday, August
17, from 1-8 p.m.
It is most helpful to the
superintendents if you have your
exhibitor’s tags filled out prior to
going to the various departments.
Drop by the Fair Office and pick
up your premium sheet and
exhibitor tags prior to August 17
if possible. That will help you be
more prepared come entry time.
The Fair Office will be open
Saturday, August 15, from 8 am.
until noon for your convenience.
Exhibits will again be released
on Saturday night, August 22,
from 9-10 p.m.
If you are unable to be present
during this time, every effort will
oe made to put the exhibits in a
locked area to keep them safe.
The office will be open on
Sunday through Friday the week
following fair so that you may
pick up your articles.
Karaoke, a fair
time favorite
A fairgrounds favorite last
year. Karaoke, presented by
Tom and Linda Lohuis, will
again be featured entertainment
at the 1998 Morrow County Fair
on Saturday night.