Bobby Mote

In Prineville, it’s all about the rodeo.

During this weekend’s Crooked River Roundup, spectators at the Crook County Fairgrounds can expect to see some of the best cowboys and cowgirls in the world.

Without any distractions.

“This truly is a classic rodeo,” says CRR board member Bryan Iverson. “We don’t do the other shenanigans.”

Concentrating on the quality of the contestants and stock, fans won’t find wild cow milking contests or covered wagon races at Crook County’s annual rodeo.

“It’s nice to see a rodeo that appreciates and showcases the cowboys,” says bareback rider Jason Havens, a Prineville resident who finished 12th in last year’s Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world standings. “It’s nice to see that the rodeo itself is enough to have a good crowd and people watch that and not a circus act.”

A three-day affair, the Roundup begins on Friday with slack competition starting at 8 a.m. The main performance starts at 7 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday, and Sunday’s final competition is slated for 2 p.m.

“We make it a point to try to stay true to what the Crooked River Roundup was like when it started,” Iverson says about the rodeo, which was first held in 1945 but has roots as far back as 1916. “We’re all about having an incredible rodeo for 2 12 to three hours.”

Highlighting the action at the 2008 Crooked River Roundup is an impressive list of local talent, including contestants who have excelled on the national stage.

Culver’s Bobby Mote, the 2007 PRCA world champion in bareback, is expected to compete in Prineville, as are team-roping partners Mike and Brandon Beers of Powell Butte, who last year became the first father-son roping team in 20 years to make the National Finals Rodeo. Dean Tuftin of Prineville, a team roper who finished seventh in the world last year, is also scheduled to rope at the Roundup.

Though not a local, Canadian saddle bronc rider Kaila Mussell, the PRCA’s only female roughstock rider, should also be a crowd favorite. At an indoor rodeo in Prineville in 2002, Mussell became the first woman in the history of the PRCA to place in a roughstock event.

“This is a great rodeo,” says Havens, who currently is in 20th place in the PRCA’s bareback world standings. “It improves every year, and they try to do something new and better for the contestants. Guys like to support rodeos like that.”

If you go

If You Go

What: Crooked River Roundup

When: Friday, 7 p.m. (slack starts at 8 a.m.); Saturday, 7 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.

Where: Crook County Fairgrounds, Prineville.

Cost: Daily, general admission, $10 for adults, $10 for children age 3 to 12. Box seats are $16. On Sunday, children age 12 and under get in free.

What: Crooked River Roundup

When: Friday, 7 p.m. (slack starts at 8 a.m.); Saturday, 7 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.

Where: Crook County Fairgrounds, Prineville.

Cost: Daily, general admission, $10 for adults, $10 for children age 3 to 12. Box seats are $16. On Sunday, children age 12 and under get in free.