Cowboys make themselves feel right at home
Rarely will people pay to watch others perform actions they do every day from dusk ’til dawn – but that’s what makes the Ride for the Brand Championship Ranch Rodeo so unique.
On Saturday at the seventh annual competition at the Norris-Penrose Event Center, more than 1,000 people watched cowboys from 12 ranches compete in events such as cow milking, cow branding and trailer loading.
“Everything you saw out here today is exactly what we’re doing every day,” said Clayton Miller, a cowboy with T-Cross Ranch & Hackamore Ranch from Colorado Springs. “Only thing was here, we were being timed.”
The 60 cowboys from five states competed in five timed events. While Crutch Ranch from Borger, Texas, beat out the competition to win, Bill Miller, the general manager of the Event Center, said there was something bigger to behold.
“It’s as big a deal for the cowboys as it is for the crowd,” he said. “(Cowboys) seldom get to town so this is a big experience for them. At the same time, city people get to see real cowboys up close and personal. They get to see what kind of hat he’s wearing, his belt, his horse. That’s what the rodeo does – it brings these two cultures face to face.”
Miller said this rodeo, which is sanctioned by the Working Ranch Cowboys Association, differs from regular rodeos in many ways.
It was evident early that these cowboys were not just for show. In the middle of the stray gathering event – in which four cowboys must lasso two rowdy yearling cows and tie three of their feet up – heavy rain started to fall from the murky sky.
There was no stoppage, no hesitation, not even a blink from the cowboys.
“We do that all the time,” Clayton Miller said. “Rain is just another thing you have to deal with out on the ranch. The only issue is safety. With slippery grounds, you have to hold back to not get your horse or yourself hurt.”
Despite the showers, the rodeo was a success as the cowboys wowed the crowd.
“The best part was when one of the guys was holding on to a cow’s head and slipped and fell,” 11-year-old Cody Platt said. “It was funny because they were sliding around everywhere.”
All in a day’s work for a cowboy, Cody.
Jeff Shimer (left) and Ryan Thompson (right) perform ski lift maintenance to the Norway ski lift at Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort, Co., June 22, 2009. Photo by Cole W. Eberle, The Gazette Photo by COLE W. EBERLE/THE GAZETTE