Jan Swan Wood: Rain! Lots of events, clinics, camps, reward offered, prayers
The best news out there is that a lot of our northern plains country got some desperately needed rain. Some areas got a little more than needed in a short span, with some measurements in the northern Black Hills of nearly 10 inches. We got about 2.5 inches at our place and other areas from an inch or so up to three out on the prairie.
We drove to Sidney, MT, to visit our son on Friday, May 17, and it was so dry up across northwestern Sout Dakota. It looked a little better in North Dakota and Montana due to having more snow, and better as we went toward Sidney (via Bowman, Baker, Wibaux, Glendive). However, though they were green up that way, it was from the snow melt, not rain, so they were getting concerned. We went to the Miles City Bucking Horse Sale on Saturday and it was so warm and sunny, but the clouds were building. Late in the afternoon, the monsoonal rains and hail commenced and the dust was settled immediately.
I’ve never seen a crowd like the one there: they stood up and clapped and cheered every time another pulse of rain would lash down on the arena. The bucking horses and horse races kept right on, and the celebration never faltered. What a fun bunch of folks!
We traveled to Plentywood, MT, with our son and visited friends up that way on Sunday and after lunch in Plentywood, headed back toward Sidney. Partway there, it started raining and rained all the way to Sidney. We loaded up in our car and headed for home and it rained all the way and I shut my windshield wipers off when I shut the car off in our yard. What a wonderful sight it was to see water running down draws, standing in furrows, and running into dams. Having rain over such a large area was amazing.
On June 16, at 10 a.m. there will be the Wright Days Calf Roping at Wright, WY. There will be open calf roping, ladies breakaway, senior breakaway and Flint Memorial Jr breakaway. Enter at 8:30 a.m. and you can enter twice if you use two different horses. Call Bill Reynolds for more info at 307-299-1521.
On July 5-7 there will be a Ranch Roping Clinic at Huntley, MT with Joe Wolter and Scott Grosskopf. July 5 will be for beginner/intermediate ropers and July 6 & 7 for intermediate/open level ropers. Call Jimmie Wolter at 806-777-2766 or email jimmie@ joewolter.com; or Staci Grosskopf at 406-252-5000 or email her at Stacie@buckaroo businesses.net.
There will be a Badlands Cowboys for Christ Rodeo Bible camp August 5-8 at Kadoka, SD rodeo grounds. For teens 13-19, the camp begins Monday at 10 a.m. There will be two days of rodeo instruction and then two days of competition, plus daily church services, games and fellowship. It costs $100 and there are some scholarships available. Entries are limited to 90 boys and 54 girls and the campers will stay in cabins with counselors and lots of supervision. Applications are on a first come, first served basis and need to be in by July 29. For more info call John or Sue at 605-837-2376 or Robyn at 605-441-8554. Go on http://www.badlandsrodeobiblecamp.com for applications, rules, etc…
There’s been some shifting around in the the WNFR barrel standings. Jane Melby, Backus, MN is up to 4th in the standings while Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, SD is 11th and Trula Churchill, Valentine, NE is 12th. Trula won the average at Redding, CA with a three way tie for 5th in the first go and a win in the 2nd go.
Lisa went north of the border and won both the Luxton Pro Rodeo in Victoria, BC and the Falkland (BC) Stampede.
A reward of over $16,000 is being offered for info solving the case of 13 cows and one calf that were shot in a pasture in Richland Co. near Hankinson, ND last week. The cattle were owned by David Kluge. If you know anything about this incident, call the N.D. Stockgrowers at 701-290-3993 or the Richland Co. Sheriff’s Dept. at 701-642-7711. Richland Co. is in the very southeastern corner of ND against the SD border.
My prayers go out to all those in the paths of the tornados in KS, OK, and TX this past week. Tragic losses of people, livestock and property. Those folks are tough and resilient and they’ll build back. In the meantime, prayer and any aid you can send through reputable organizations would be appreciated.
Send me your events and items of interest and I’ll share them here. I’d better put my gumbo-tired horse up for now and call this circle done. Praise the Lord for the rain! F
