Cowboys, antique cars roar into region

Ride ‘em cowboys and cowgirls.

The Nile Shriners PRCA Rodeo in town this weekend is nothing like your grandpa’s rodeo.

John Pentland, chairman of the Nile Shrine PRCA Rodeo, said rodeo evolved from working cowboys placing bets against one another. Riding, roping and wrestling were daily activities. Over time, rodeo became more organized. Events were planned and outsiders placed bets.

Family Fun Nile Shriners PRCA Rodeo: Dodge series, $5,000 added rodeo, 7 p.m. today and Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday at Everett Events Center, 2000 Hewitt Ave., Everett. Tickets are $10 to $35. For tickets and information, call 866-332-8499 or visit www.everetteventscenter.com. Twin City Idlers Show and Shine car show: The second annual event is 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday on Main street, Stanwood. Enter cars in vintage auto categories or vintage motorcycles and racecars. Registration, $10 per vehicle. Kids model car show is free and judged for 12 years and younger and 13 years and older. For information, call 360-629-4077 or 360-652-3837.

“Now, these guys train just like other professional athletes,” said Pentland.

Although some working cowboys maintain full time jobs and compete on weekends, the “weekend warrior” cowboys are less common than most competitive cowboys who treat rodeo as a full-time sport.

This weekend, full-time rodeo cowboys and a few weekend warriors compete in the Nile Shrine Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association sanctioned event beginning at 7 p.m. today at the Everett Events Center. Performances are also at 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

Approximately 300 cowboys will compete for the purse plus an additional $5,000. The PRCA lists the Dodge series rodeo as a $5,000 added event.

“Our plan is to quickly attract local and national sponsorships that will make it possible to add $10,000 per events, which is what we need to rank in the top 40,” said John Pentland, chairman of the Nile Shrine PRCA Rodeo.

“This is our new venue of fundraising, replacing the old Shriners circus events,” Pentland said.

Rodeo terminology Barrier – A breakaway rope that is pulled across the roping chutes designed to give the steer or calf a head start out into the arena making the competition more difficult. Breaking the barrier (breaking the rope or leaving too early) results in a penalty added to the overall time of the competitor. Bucking chute – The bucking chutes are the stock pens where the horses and bulls are placed. Riding equipment is placed on the animal and mounted for the ride. Cover – To cover or covering means making a qualified eight-second ride on a horse or bull in a roughstock event. Dallie – Dallie describes the wrapping of a rope around a saddle horn, after a calf or steer has been roped. Hazer – A hazer is a mounted cowboy who rides along the right hand side of the steer keeping it running in a straight line in steer wrestling events. Hung up – In the roughstock events, when a competitor can’t free their hand from a rigging or bullrope they are hung up. Mark out rule – In the bareback and saddle bronc events, the cowboys must have their spurs touching the animal above the point of the horse’s shoulder on its first jump out of the bucking chutes. Failure to do so will result in a penalty of a no score. The judges determine if a competitor has made the mark out or not. Pick up men – Pick up men are cowboys who work the roughstock events. They manage the horses and bulls and rescue bronc and bareback riders from their horses after they make a ride. They also release the flank strap on horses. Purse – Award money comes partially from rider entry fees. Rank – Rank describes roughstock animals that are difficult to ride. It could mean tough, rough, mean, or dangerous when describing specific broncs or bulls. Stock – Bulls or horses used in rodeo events.

In the Columbia River circuit, the contest sponsored by the Shriners of the Nile Shrine Center in Mountlake Terrace is the second-largest rodeo behind the annual rodeo held in Reno, he added.

Top competitors at this weekend’s rodeo include Brad Goodrich, Myron Duarte and Trevor Mulrony.

Goodrich, ranked No. 1 all-around cowboy, is from Stanfield, Ore., and will compete in tie down roping or calf roping events. Duarte, from Auburn, ranks third in bull riding. Mulrony, a Roosevelt, Wash., resident, competes in bareback riding events.

Other competitors include Sam MacKenzie or Jordan Valley, Ore., Joe Meling of Camas, Wash., and Tony Currin of Dayton, Wash.

The event consists of roughstock events and timed events.

Roughstock events are bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding. Scores depend equally upon the performances of both contestant and animal, each scored on a scale of zero to 25 points.

To qualify, riders must stay aboard bucking horses or bulls for eight seconds. If the rider touches the animal with his free hand, he is disqualified.

For saddle bronc and bareback riding, participants must set spurs above the horse’s shoulders and hold them there until the front feet hit the ground after the horse’s initial jump out of the chute. Failing to do so disqualifies riders.

Timed events include calf roping, steer wrestling, team roping, barrel racing and steer roping. The fastest time wins. Cowgirls compete in girl’s barrel racing events.

Cowboys compete for points during the year in each of 12 circuits. Each circuit’s top cowboys in the seven events qualify for that circuit’s finals. Once the 12 circuit finals are completed, the top regular-season cowboys in each event and the winners of the circuit finals qualify for the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo held the first week of December in Las Vegas.

Randy Corley of Silverdale is the announcer. Corley, who has won the PRCA Announcer of the Year award more than anyone, has announced the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo eight times.

Show and shine on Camano Island: The second annual Twin City Idlers show and shine returns to Main Street, Stanwood, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

The show and shine features vintage automobiles. This year’s event also welcomes a class for vintage motorcycles and racecars.

Kids can enter a model car show. The free event features two judged categories, kids ages 12 and younger, and kids ages 13 and older.

Door prizes include a set of tires from Les Schwab.

Twin City Idlers, established in the 1950s and 1960s, was resurrected in 2002 and boasts more than 120 active members. Last year’s event drew more than 260 entries. Their fund-raising events benefit community projects such as the Stanwood Food Bank, Pilchuck Wildlife Refuge and local families in need.

They’ll be roping, riding and all that cowboy stuff at the Nile Shriners PRCA Rodeo.