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jfest)/lesBetty Penkor EditorPart 1—Page 6Sunday, August 1,197GMan v. Animal at the RodeoDoggingBy BETTY RENKORCars lined up against the makeshift corral, their hoods barely a foot away from the snout of an inquisitive steer Small groups of people crowded around the ticket man. awaiting entrance to the bleacher area. Teen-age girls gazed at the muscular cowboys, perched atop horses and wooden fences In the bleacher area, a young boy carried heavy soda cases, filled with peanuts. Another walked the length of the bleachers, advertising his wares, ‘Get your red hots here An older couple readied themselves for the show “Where’s that blanket.’’ the man asked his wife “Spread it out so you can sit on it. ”People settled in the hard bleachers, listening to country tunes of the “Country Cousins.” Their songs, like, “I’m an Okie from Muskogee.” soon ended, and the cowboys and cowgirls paraded their horses in the arena, introducing themselves to the crowdTHE RODEO was about to begin.Mokena's first annual rodeo was sponsored by the Mokena Lions club. Held as a fund- raiser for community projects, the broncs and steers bucked on the grounds of the Haymac farm, 187th street and 104th avenue, last weekend.The rodeo, put on by Latting Rodeo productions, is one of 350 sanctioned by the International Rodeo association The association sanctions the rodeo as professional, and the rodeo must follow all association rulesIn professional rodeo, participants must follow the rules established for each event, and accept the judge's decision as final. For example, in bareback bronc riding, the rider must have his spurs over the break of the horse’s shoulders before the horse’s front feet touch the ground, on his first jump out of the chute The riders must stay on for at least eight seconds to qualify, and«can hold on with only one handTHE 120 PARTICIPANTS at the Mokena rodeo had their choice of bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, calf roping, steer wrestling, bull rid ing, and, for women, barrel racing Most rodeo events nave descended trom everyday ranch activities Ranch hands roped calves in order to brand them Racing horses around barrels trains them to have good footing on tricky terrain In rodeo, cowboys are whisked away from the bucking bronc by pick-up men If the cowboy lasts eight seconds, the pick up men rush to help him off the bronc. and then drive the bronc out of the arena The pick up men do not help the riders off the bulls, but only drive the bulls out of the arena Another aid to the cowboy is the rodeo clown In the Mokena rodeo, Mike the clown entertained between acts But his more important job was to distract the wild bull away from the fallen cowboyANIMAL STOCK for rodeo is chosen for general meanness and dislike of being ridden Most stock comes from the Northwestern states and Southern Canada, from ranchers in the business of raising rodeo stockThere s a lot to rodeo, said Mokena policeman John Gallano, a bulldogger, or steer wrestler “You have to feed and water them carefully, and check the animals daily to see if there’s any injuries If they don’t buck properly, the people won’t come back Latting has people in Oklahoma looking for fresh stock, something just a little better ”Gallano first started bulldogging in 1953 He quit rodeo for a few’ years, then became active again about a year ago During Gallano’s try at wrestling the steer, he had trouble“WE HAD TROUBLE with the steer in the chute He kept laying down Then, when he got out, he was a little wild Normally they run between the cow horse (the one he was on) and the hazers horse | The hazer helps the wrestler iHe just dove in to the side of the hazing horse It kind of scared me. It sounded like a bone had crack ed ”No bone cracked, but Gallano’s hazer did get hit in the shins by the steer’s horns The Lions are planning another rodeo about the same time next year, Norm Strassenberg. committee chairman, said “ We were happy w ith the outcome and pleased to have so many people entertained by rodeo He estimated that 10,000 people attended the three rodeo showsBucking Broncs and Bull
Newspaper Details
Midlothian Star Herald
Midlothian, Illinois, US
Sun, Aug 01, 1976
Page 6
Full Page
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USA 11 Jun 2024
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