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Outside Circle: Heat and fire, congrats K-J Leather, ranch rodeo, Indian relays, bull riding, roping

Another week week of extreme heat, spotty rains and fire. The wildfire situation in the west in general is horrible. With 30 years of the Sierra Club managing our forests, they are burning down instead of being logged. Special interest groups (it’s big business with lots of dollars involved) have micromanaged so much of the west, from those very forests to the feral horses, that it’s all a mess. I sure hope the President and his administration can get the tide turned in favor of actual land and resource management soon. I’m very encouraged by the vote of the House appropriations committee that would once again allow funding for inspectors in horse processing plants. That would be a start. Emptying the holding facilities that house the unadoptable feral horses would more than pay for all the USDA inspectors ever needed for horse processing!

Congratulations to K-J Leathers of Newell, S.D.! They were chosen to represent the state of South Dakota at President Trump’s Made In American White House campaign. I’m proud to call Jack and Kelly Gully, owners of K-J, my friends and proud to know the wonderful ladies who work there and turn out those beautiful leather goods every day. It’s quite an honor for all of them!

The 5th Annual Phillips County Saddle Club Ranch Rodeo will be Sunday, August 6 and held during the county fair at beautiful Dodson, Mont. The calcutta of teams will be at 12:30 p.m. with the ranch rodeo starting at 1 p.m. It is N.I.L.E. Sanctioned. For info call Jeremy at 406-390-6584 or Kendra at 406-301-0149.



Also happening that very day will be the Indian Relay Races at 10:30 a.m for heat qualifiers and a calcutta of the teams at 3:30 p.m. plus the consolation and championship races. There’s a whopping $15,000 payout and it’s sanctioned by the Horse Nations Indian Relay Council. The first 10 paid teams are guaranteed entry with HNIRC members getting priority. Entries close Sat. Aug. 5 at 6 p.m., heat drawing at 7 p.m. There’s a $200 entry fee. Call Francine Kill Eagle at 406-301-1610 for info and to enter.

There’s a new bull riding event coming up August 12 at the Knuckle Saloon, Sturgis, S.D. It will feature those good Nixon bulls and have $4,000 added with $100 to enter and taking the first 30. Calcutta at 6:30 and bulls at 7 p.m. Call 605-842-6077 to enter.



The Days of 85 rodeo will be August 12-13 at Ekalaka, Mont. It will have a rodeo with those tough Tooke bucking horses, plus a parade, class reunions, and a street dance.

The Montana Horse Power Extreme Cowboy Obstacle Challenge will be August 12 at the Richland County Fairgrounds, Sidney, Mont. Registration is at 9 a.m., starts at 10. All ages and levels can enjoy competing. Call Julie at 406-480-3621 or email her at lander6005@gmail.com.

Mark your calendars for the Fulton Family Performance Horse Sale. The new date is Friday, August 18. You can look over the offering at http://www.fultonranch.com, and talk to Rob, the manager, at 208-949-4584 or Lisa Fulton at 402-322-0110.

The 58th Annual Lazy JS Ranch Production sale will be August 19 at Bowman Auction Market, Bowman, N.D. There will be broke horses, started prospects and of course, the 2017 foal crop. Call Logan and Diane Silha at 701-523-5605 or check out the website at http://www.lazyjsranch.com.

The 9th Annual Rope For Knowledge Scholarship roping is August 18-19 at Buffalo, Wyo. They are taking pre-entries now and entries will close August 17 at noon. August 18th will be the Men’s Mister Twister Barrel Race, calcutta at 6:30, race to follow. August 19 it will start at 9 a.m. With junior barrels, 2D at 10, breakaway at 11, Youth/Adult team roping at 12:30, and a pick/draw team roping at 1 p.m. There’s also youth dummy roping for ages 0-7, 8-12, enter there. To enter call 307-684-2001 or 307-620-5830.

Well, that’s my circle for the week. Keep praying for rain and be careful with anything that could start a fire.