NEWELL—A fun afternoon was spent cheering on favorite teams during the Newell Ranch Rodeo on Saturday, September 5. With six teams competing in a variety of unique events, spectators had a great time watching the action while rooting for their favorites throughout the afternoon.
The afternoon began with a team calcutta. All six teams were auctioned off to the highest bidder. Each team was made up of five members. Members had to meet specific criteria to field a team. Each team needed one woman, one kid that was 14 years old or younger, one senior—50 or older, one hand—either a man or a woman, and a mutton buster—60 pounds or lighter. The teams were Capital Builders, Dusty’s Backhoe Service, K-J Leather, Mackaben Ranch, Rockin B Feeders and Rocking C Services.
After the auction, the Ranch Rodeo began. A ranch rodeo is different from a traditional rodeo as it has very different events. The events were more focused on skills a horseman would acquire on a working ranch—activities that happened on a regular basis when taking care of cattle.
The announcer for the Ranch Rodeo was Justin Tupper and Vonda Mahaffey performed the national anthem.
The competition was made up of five different events. The team scoring the most points at the end of all of the events won the Championship Ranch Rodeo title. Events included Sorting, Penning and Doctoring; Branding; Trailer Loading; Sheep Teepeeing and Mutton Busting.
Sheep Teepeeing was a crowd favorite and often had the spectators whoopin’ and hollerin’ for their favorites to win. Tupper said Sheep Teepeeing might be an event only held in Newell. That was in part because the Newell area has deep roots in raising sheep and was often referred to as the Sheep Capital of the Nation.
In the event, teams rode on horseback to the flock of sheep and then dismounted and caught one. After the animal was secured, teams had to put a tent over the sheep to keep it from running off. The riders had to remount their horses and race back across the finish line while holding hands with the other team members.
With no one able to steer their horse, the riders had to trust one another and hold on tight as they raced as fast as possible toward the finish line. If the riders made it across the finish line while still holding hands, 10 seconds was deducted from their final time. Tupper said, “Well, ladies and gentlemen, pay off our Sheep Teepeers here on a hot Saturday afternoon… what a great crowd we had this afternoon—maybe the best crowd we had at a Ranch Rodeo—thank you for coming out!”
The first-place team won Custom Trophy Spurs, while second- and third-place teams won quality leather products and the Top Hands earned Newell Ranch Rodeo jackets.
Individual winners were:
Top Youth: Cooper Cermack.
Top Woman: Brandi Cwach.
Top Senior: Dwayne Adams.
Top Hand: Ty Ollrich.
Top Horse: Tyrel Bonnet.
Winning Teams:
Champions: K-J Leather
Second Place: Dusty’s Backhoe Service
Third Place: Mackaben Ranch
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