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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 1936)
Juvenile Performers of the South west Cattle Country Show Their Elders How Riding, Roping and Bulldogging Really Should Be Done By Oren Arnold rpHEY say It'i an age when youth la In the aaddle, anyway, so maybe It's Just as well for youngsters to begin doing all the hard riding. In any event, they're doing it out In the Wild West this season. For the first time In years, a brand-new wrinkle ha crept Into that spectacular cowboy carnival known as the rodeo. After one or two experiments, Coolldge, Ariz., re cently threw tradition to the coyotes and staged a bang-up range festival In which all the oldsters hung on the fence and the participants were all under 18 yean. They believe It Is the first official Junior rodeo ever held, exclusively "Junior," that Is. But it won't be the last, for Other towns are planning them already. The range kids took to the Idea like ticks to a steer and many a 30-year-old erstwhile "star" performer went away feeling that he was a de crepit old man. Children are essen tially Imitators but, brother, how they can Imltatel rpHE Coolldglans advertised their show at exactly face value "Rlp-Roar-Ing Rang Ruckus for Romping Rois tering Riders." When Charlie Lamson, who Is 34 and who aspires to be world's champion cowboy, ' came to headquar ters to enter the bulldogging event, the officials almost kicked him out. "Whatta you doln' here?" they de manded. "Yore daughter might git In, but not you, you old wom-out, wrln-kled-up patriarch. This here rodeo Is for kids; ain't you heard?" , Oharlte hadn't heard. But he slunk away. Pretty soon, sure enough, up rode Miss Letty Lamson and announced that she expected to win the first prize for running her horse, Jumping from him on to a young steer's head and throwing the same In a pell mell smash. When the clerk of the arena asked, "Age, please?" Letty said, "Fourteen." It turned out that Letty didn't do so extra good, though. The young steer they gave her was pretty heavy, for all his youth, and Letty Is slender and graceful Ilka the desert ocotlllo, tor all her country tea In the end, the steer bulldogged Ltttty. When the Judges Anally sailed "Time" the steer was standing In ankle-deep, powdery dust with his head holding Letty almost burled. It took halt an hour for Letty's mother to scrape the dirt off her when they Anally got the girl's arms untangled from the steer's head. On the other hand, a sassy Uttle gal named Thelma aneed out as pie, by George took such honors as the Junior rodeo awarded. Thelma rode In from the oow town of Florence on a great big mountainous horse named Nellie. Thelma regis tered as age 14, too, but the parents on the sidelines all agreed that aha looked rearer 10. Anyhow, when she gets to be 18 or 30, Dad Sneed Is going to have plenty of boys hanging around his front porch she's that good looking. Well, Thelma took Nellie down to the beginning of the horse racetrack, and when the starter shot his pistol Nellie seemed to Jump out of a cannon. Thelma scrooched down behind the saddle horn to where you could hardly see her and at the end of the course she had to stop and wait for competitors to como In. The crowd yelled and howled for Thelma and Nellie. They had several more races for vari ous -llstances, all ending In front of the crowd around the main arena. Some were for males only, but a lot of them admitted girls. A few were for boys and girls both. It didn't seem to mat ter to Thelma and Nellie. It hadnt reined In Coolldge sine Calvin Coolldge for whom the town la named was President, so It seemed. The wind was cantankerous that day, too. Every time a horse race was under way you would know It by a heavy cloud of dust rolling down the track toward you. Tint's all you could tee t Arst, but as It neared the finish line out of it would shoot a sudden streak which turned out to be Thelma and Nellie, mostly Nellie. kTRLI.lK and Thelma lost one race thnt dav and thereby hanea a tale. Fact Is. It came near being a tragedy. It teems that the town of Florence, which Is jk right snappy town what with having the Slate Penitentiary and nil fame to be very proud of Thelma Sneed on Junior Rodeo Day. Some ol the town boys around the track and arena wore saUng so. after the manner ot males. On the other hand, the equally proud town of Casa Orande, which is situated nearby, but which wasn't winning in the rodeo contests, doesn't admit that Coolldge amounts to much. Well, you know how It Is along toward 4 P. M. the respective boosters had about exhausted their vocabularies and their good natures, too. It had simmered down to a personal matter between two young men, self-appointed champions of their respective towns. The Florence man up and offered to bet A I jS y S' ' x " tf"i' Timnir iiiihiii i iiiiin mihw -in l"y.y (WiiJ I -7 x 1 anybody $35 that Thelma Sneed, of Florence, would win every event she en tered, and he'd personally lick the tar out of anybody who said she couldn't, or words to that effect. Right away the bet was covered. Now Thelma never heard anything about all that, probably hasn't heard It even yet. If she had, no doubt the would have pitched In and won every event. She's loyal to her town. But fate docs things to men who argue and gamble, especially to men who bet on pretty girls. The exact rea son for Thelma's action Isn't clear It seldom Is where a girl Is concerned but It seems to be about like this: Thelma and Nellie were entered In the half-mile special. The starting gun wat about to shoot, when whom did Thelma spy on the sidelines nearby but her Aunt Margaret from Phoenix? Thelma hadn't seen Aunt Margaret for several months, hadn't known she was coming to the big rodeo. She rode over to the fence, dropped off the mountainous Nellie and kissed Aunt Margaret hello Just as the gun said Rty Griswold, Jr., ran pull a ait thooter tt fast aa many of hit eldera. Yea, and he also knows how to use It, If neresnary, as he drmonatraied before the rodeo crowd ' bang I" The other racers went on down their dusty way, while Thelma and Aunt Margaret talked woman talk. That wat the story whlcn was told later, and It't all right, ol rourse. But over back of the crowd on Die south sideline, Uie two male booster made an Issue ot tt. The Florence boy telt he had been royally rooked and wouldn't pay the 139. Words began to fly, fol lowed quickly by Hits. Somebody snatched out a pistol and shot It at somebody else, and that brought the deputy therm a-runnlng. When the deputy get there, though, all the boys from bolli towns -Including the two combatants swore It Itad been a car backfiring. He couldn't pin anything on anyrxxly to nrri't. so thoy all went on back to the nrcna In u roily W I If, tl X;1,ilrm,m,nm., , "n -W.H. '.t . 3 Dallas Waddell shows rodeo fans how i V KM i st , ' ''' to "bust" a full-sited mustang pony ft " , 1)1 'Ah 'ur""- i i it iv it,, id k t i if 1 1 x it mtrigj mmm good fellowship, to see how the trick roping contest was coming along. Well, sir, there wasn't much contest to the trick roping. There Isn't likely to be much contest In any rodeo hereafter If young Mister Qlen Henry, also of Florence, happens to be' entered. Many an adult rope artist eyed Olen't performance at Cool ldge with frank envy. Glen didn't pay much attention to such simple tilings as dropping a rope around any running call's leg at will any leg he wanted. That's elemental, as 8herlock Holmes said to Watson; even If Olen hasn't had to do any shav ing to speak of yet In no time at all, Glen had all his would-be competitors froien out and he was In the arena doing a solo act by way of exhibition. AT THIS point the arena director broke the rules and permitted an adult "In structor" to come before the crowd and give the youngsters a few pointers In handling ropes. The Instructor reached his peak when like Will Rosers used to do he was twirling a big loop. Jump ing In and out of It, running around It and generally playing tag with It. never letting It fall. The spectators cheered. Then Olen stepped out to try It. In thirty seconds he was doing all of that -and for good measure was twirling a second loop In hit free hand. Just keeping two going at once, one Inside the other or anywhere he pleased. The 'pectatora howled In glee. But that sllll wasnt all. Glen Henry, from Florence, stuck the end of one rope In his mouth, kept the loop twirl ing with that and then made two more loops and kept them twirling with his hands. Three loops at once, by an entrant ii a Junior nxlco The adult Instructor 11k1 away and hasn't been seen since. Among the male entrants, Mister Oilbert Nichols, going on 15 years, fiom the town of Oilbert, Incidentally, won most of the racing honors. Thelma Sneed on Nellie could deal him some misery, but he avoided her most of the time, gallant like. Mitcr Glen Henry prinrd hy far had been callcj upon la in a He came roaring In ahead of every other boy In the big racing event half a mile for all comers. He won the wild cow riding event and that was plenty of fun. Have you ever ridden a wild cow? Why, brother, you ought to visit OU- -,- -v a ..... ,,i 1 -rU r I Hi K 'w.'V 4 lo he the king pf luv nl'e rope "pinners. He ontelsed a professional wh drmnnvlralinn. Hot e (,lin iih three ropes going at the same time Thelma Sneed, right, on her horse Nellie, won nearly every race In which ah was entered. With her Is Annie Nichols, mounted on Buck. She was runner-up to The'ma in the horse races bert Nichols some day and have him round up a wild-range bovine or two for your elucidation. It's a simple mat ter, really, and more exciting than a dollar-per-polnt game ot contract bridge. You Just tit a rope around th wild cow's belly, Jump straddle of the ani mal, holler "WHOOP-EEeeel" and let 'er go. If that's still little tame for your excltement-lovlng nature, Just omit the rope. In either case, the game Is to see bow long you can stay put. It won't be long. Well, anyhow, Oilbert Nichols could stick ' ter than anybody else. He won first U the roping contests, too, after they dlsquallAed Olen Henry by mak ing him an "exhibition artist." Bo Gil bert and Thelma were high point win ners for the day. Th rodeo had much snappy calf roping and racing, even some dust bedraggled races for bicycle riders. There were a lot of good performers who couldn't win any prlzet. Dallas Waddell, 13-year-old Phoenix lad, Is an expert at busting pee wee broncs, for Instance. But a Junior bronco that Is, a Shetland pony Is plenty energetic and don't you forget It. NINE-YEAR-OLD Ray Orlswold is likely to be nationally known as a ptstolier some day, even If he Is too "Junior" for competition yet. He handles a pistol with more skill than most adults, even now. Doc Bryce, the starter and general factotum of the rodeo, declared that "as thore as the devil made rattlesnakes, them kids could put it all over half the grown cowboys in Arizona." He be lieves the Junior rodeo Idea Is bound to spread. Callnas, Call!., and Las Cruces, N. M., already are planning to follow the lead of Coolldge. Parents are as enthusiastic as their y sons and daughters. On good Arizon mother, dressed In a buckskin coat with Indian beadwork on It, plus blue overall pants and boots with spurs, galloped up to her young offspring Just before one race. She spat, then spoke. "This Is yore race, son I" she shrilled, still dangling her cigarette from her lips. "Git yore hoss In there and run hell out of him, son, or I'll beat It out of you when we git home I" Emily Post might shudder at that. But you gotta remember. Mrs. Post, that this here Junior rodeo was away out In the open Southwest, where there aren't many cute tea parties, but where boys and girls and mothers all love each other and all can stand on their own feet. AGE TWO
