Zoe Rose Best Bets
• June 15, 2010
Cows bellowing their way through city streets, cowpokes getting
tossed high in the air by brawny bulls and cowgirls hightailing it
around barrels on their faithful steeds.
Yep,
it's rodeo time again.
The 91st annual Reno Rodeo, billed as "The
Wildest, Richest Rodeo in the West," has all of that with events that
include the Seminole Hard Rock Xtreme Bulls Tour, the Reno Rodeo
Invitational Team Roping event with a $1 million purse and the Bob Feist
Invitational Team Roping Classic with a $700,000 purse.
The
National Championship Drill Team competition is set for June 18, and
there's plenty of tie-down roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc and
bareback riding in the rodeo performances each evening.
This
year's rodeo also will feature some new events especially for the
younger crowd.
"There's always been a family night, but this year
we're doing a whole Kids Day on June 19," said Kim Surratt, who
co-chairs the event with Therese Kehoe.
"There will be a variety
of stations around the grounds. They'll get a map that they can have
stamped at each one and they'll get a prize at the end," she said.
Stations,
which will be staffed by students from Reno High School, include
lessons on roping, stick-horse racing, hay-bale "bull-riding" and tips
on milking cows.
"We're really excited about UNR's involvement.
Alphie the mascot and the cheerleaders are coming as well as some of the
athletes, and a nutritionist will talk about athletics and good
nutrition.
"For instance, did you know that drinking chocolate
milk is better than a sports drink after a workout?" Surratt said.
There's
more involved than nutrition hints.
"We wanted to create an event
where kids come year after year, and as they grow up, they in turn will
teach the different stations and then when they are adults, they will
become volunteers for the Rodeo Association," said Kehoe, who has been
involved with the rodeo for the past 12 years.
The Reno Rodeo
Association, established in 1986, has donated more than $5.1 million to
local charities.
The idea for Kids Day came from Colleen Murrey, a
second-grade teacher at Our Lady of the Snows School and the mother of
six boys.
"Colleen was previously involved in ranch life, and she
has a strong awareness that kids need outdoor activities," Kehoe said.
"So she came up with a whole series of things like the cowboy hat toss
and money in the hay and 'face branding.'"Š"
Surratt said she is
looking forward to the event.
"The rodeo has always been involved
with kids, but it's never been coordinated into one solid day, and we're
very excited about showing them the Western lifestyle."
Marie
Sebrechts of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service said she is
excited about being able to add a special event to Kids Day.
Starting
at 3 p.m., there will be citizenship ceremony for children who have
gotten their citizenship from their parents when they became naturalized
citizens. The event is open to the public.
"What could be more
American than the rodeo and immigrants becoming citizens," said
Sebrechts, who is the regional media manager for the agency.
"Miss
Reno Rodeo Lauren Neil will sing the national anthem and lead the
pledge of allegiance, and it will just be a very special day for the
parents and family as well as for the people who stop by to see what's
going on," she said.
"This is a great way to celebrate this
important day. The kids are so cute, and it's all very heartwarming."
The
last time the ceremony took place in Reno, the children represented 10
countries, including Brazil, Canada, China, India, Lithuania, Mexico,
Pakistan, the Philippines, the Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
The
daily rodeo will feature the Double RR Marketplace, with more than 100
vendors who will offer a variety of clothing, furniture, candy, boots,
hats, high-end Western wear, artwork and jewelry.
"We have lots of
beautiful items that include Native American, Western and fashion
jewelry," said Surratt, who coordinates the shopping vendors.
The
four well-known food groups of fat, sugar, corn and nitrates will be
well represented at the rodeo's carnival with favorites such as corn
dogs, Indian tacos, chili fries and cotton candy.
"You can expect
to see some different rides this year -- pretty exciting ones," said
Bill Summy, the rodeo's secretary and chairman of the carnival and
grounds.
"We have some free events scheduled for the indoor arena
that are pretty exciting, too," he said.
"On Friday (June 18), 11
teams -- including the Reno Rodeo Drill Team ranging in age from 7 to 60
-- will compete in the National Championship Drill Team competition,
and on Sunday, we have the America West Barrel Race, where locals will
ride against each other."
On June 20, cowboys in the Professional
Rodeo Cowboys Association will vie for the title of the World's Greatest
Roper with an anticipated purse of more then $75,000.
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