Bulletin E-Edition:
more photosAustin Woods goes after a steer at the Tri-County High School Rodeo as onlookers watch, including parent volunteers Nate Kauser, 46, of Centerville, Wash., in the blue shirt and sunglasses, and Clint Corey, 47, of Powell Butte, standing beside Kauser in the yellow shirt, at the Crook County Fairgrounds on Sunday. Corey said the rodeo wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the parent volunteers.
Photos by Andy Tullis / The Bulletin
It’s all in a day’s work for rodeo volunteers
By Lauren Dake / The Bulletin
Published: May 11. 2009 4:00AM PSTPRINEVILLE —
Casey Lyons, 49, of Tumalo, and Lane Lehrke, 42, of Bend, worked together Sunday to convince 400-pound steers to enter small chutes before the Tri-County High School Rodeo started at the Crook County Fairgrounds.
But some of the livestock’s determination to stay out of the chute nearly matched Lyons’ and Lehrke’s.
One creature kicked out his back legs, stuck his head down and wouldn’t budge, until Lyons jumped up on the fence and used his foot to give the steer an encouraging nudge.
“They’re wilder than snot,” Lyons said.
Lehrke agreed.
“You can get kicked pretty good,” he said. “I can pull up my pant legs and show you.”
Hours before high school students from across Oregon entered the arena to compete, Lyons, Lehrke and other volunteers hurriedly put everything, including the animals, into place.
The rodeo was hosted by the tri-county club, but competitors came from all over the state.
Many of the 50-some volunteers spend most of their free time during rodeo season around different arenas across the state, preparing.
Many are parents of students participating in the events; others have grown children but want to give back to the rodeo community.
Ask them what their job is and the answer will likely be: whatever needs to be done.
The volunteers separate the livestock before the event.
They open the gates for bucking bulls and horses.
They pick up trash.
They collect the admission tickets.
They smooth the arena’s dirt, donate animals and provide practice spaces for the students.
In short, the volunteers make the rodeos happen.
When a young bull-riding cowboy had his hand stuck in the roper Sunday, four volunteers jumped into the arena with the bucking bull to free the boy.
“You don’t find this type of volunteer in any other sport,” said Rob Woods, 45, of Newberg, the Oregon High School Rodeo Association’s national director — a volunteer position.
Woods said the rodeo community becomes like a family.
“It’s a way of life,” he said.
Monique Bailey, 47, of Redmond, said she’s been volunteering at rodeos for the past 15 years, since her two children began in peewee rodeo. Her daughter recently received a full ride to college on a rodeo scholarship.
On Sunday, Bailey sat in the announcer’s booth, capturing the riders’ time.
“It’s a family-oriented sport where everyone is here all the time,” she said. “It’s really rewarding to see the kids compete and do well, and the camaraderie they have for each other. There isn’t any other place I would want to be on Mother’s Day. And I’ve been here on a lot of Mother’s Days.”
Gary Millin, 59, of Powell Butte, had one of the more dangerous jobs, opening the gate for the bucking horses. Being animals, they aren’t predictable, and Millin said he’s had a few close calls.
“A horse has run me over coming down the chute,” he said.
But having been a bucking- horse rider in the past, Millin is confident in his position.
While it takes many volunteers to keep the rodeos running, Woods, the state high school rodeo official, said there are only three requirements to be a volunteer.
“A cowboy hat, a Western shirt and willing to work,” he said.
Lauren Dake can be reached at 541-419-8074 or at ldake@bendbulletin.com.
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