Tiny town gets a rush of rodeo regulars

Published 5:00 am Monday, September 3, 2007

PAULINA — When the heavily wooled sheep sped out of the gate, 6-year-old John Barry Rose held on for dear life.

Multiple muttons dropped tiny riders from their backs Sunday afternoon at the 58th annual Paulina Rodeo.

But not John, who went on to win the sheep-riding competition and the coveted prize of a shiny new belt buckle.

John said he started mutton busting when he was just 3 years old and has won the event twice.

“When I get on a sheep I feel like, ‘I wanna win this,’” the Burns boy said.

The sheep-riding competition was just one of a series of fast-moving events at the rodeo, held each year in the tiny burg of Paulina, which is 52 miles southeast of Prineville.

About 50 people normally populate the town, but each Labor Day weekend visitors pour in from all over to watch a good old-fashioned rodeo.

“We want to keep this a hometown thing, but if you look around, you haven’t seen this many people in Paulina since last year,” said arena director Ron Keys.

Keys said that final attendance numbers weren’t in Sunday, but about 1,700 people came to the rodeo last year and attendance appeared to be about the same this year, according to organizers.

The weekend event has evolved into something far different from the first rodeo in Paulina, said Don Fearrien, 82, who had a hand in creating the event.

“My brother and I cut the first posts for the corrals with a cross-cut saw,” he said.

Fearrien and Rick Raymond, 70, remember the days when every local ranch sent a bucking horse to the event. Now the horses are provided by a contractor, they said, and the animals don’t seem to be quite as ornery.

The two men sat swapping stories in the shade of the snack bar as young calf-ropers lined up for their turn in the rodeo arena.

The two old friends agreed that their favorite event is the “saddle bronc,” when bucking horses are saddled up for riders who try to stay on their backs for seven seconds.

None of the saddle bronc riders Sunday was able to complete a qualifying ride, but the show was still a hit.

Mark Gage, of Madras, briefly rode a horse that came out of the gate and jumped all four hooves high into the air over and over.

Gage, 26, said he has been saddle bronc riding for about a dozen years since his father got him into the event. He estimated that he’s ridden in 50 or 60 rodeos a year since he started and said he no longer gets the jitters when he jumps on a bucking horse’s back.

But lanky bareback rider Ashanti Samuels, 23, said he gets a rush every time he mounts a steed.

Samuels stood outside the arena after a successful ride, dripping with sweat as he stripped off his fringed leather chaps. He somehow held onto a bucking horse for so long Sunday afternoon that “pickup” riders had to pull him off.

His efforts paid off with a third-place finish.

“It’s a big adrenaline rush every single time,” he said. “I can’t really explain it.”

Proceeds from the amateur rodeo go to a college scholarship fund for Paulina-area youth, said Chute Boss Rob McLean.

He said scholarship winners get about $600 per year each year they attend college.

And while the influx of people can be an inconvenience, McLean said he’s happy to see folks come every year.

“The greatest thing is that they do come and support us, and that’s a great thing,” he said.