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Outside Circle: Frosty, ropings, GPIRA finals, goat roping, ranch rodeos, barrels, clinics, feral horse follies

There was sure some frost on the punkins last weekend in our country. It slowed the flies down for a few days and we even got a little rain, so it was a good thing. I think fall is on it’s way, just as expected.

There will be a couple of ACTRA team ropings at the Durbin Creek Ranch, Thermopolis, Wyo. on Sept. 23 and 30, both Fridays. They will be at 6 p.m. at the Hot Springs County Fairgrounds. They will be progressive after one head and it costs $30 for three head and you can enter up to three times. For more info, call Jake Agar at 307-867-2403 or 541-519-5366.

The GPIRA (Great Plains Indian Rodeo Finals) will be Sept. 24-25 at Eagle Butte, S.D. Performances will be at 11 a.m. both days. The contestants will be gunning for their chance to go to the INFR later this fall.



The annual Goat Roping at the Country Corner, Caputa, S.D. will be September 25, with entries open at 11 a.m., roping at noon. Call 605-393-8094 for more information.

The 19th Annual Stirling Family Memorial Ranch Rodeo will be Sept. 24 at the Stanley County Fairgrounds in Ft. Pierre, S.D. The long go will start at 11 a.m., then a BBQ at 5 p.m. and calcutta and short go with the top 10 teams at 6. For more information, go to http://www.stirlingfamilyranchrodeo.com. All the proceeds go to the Cancer Warriors.



The Missouri River Classic barrel race and pole bending will be Sept. 24 at Stanton, N.D. There will be half second splits for the open and full second splits for youth. For more information, call Tandra Thrall at 701-870-0261 or the website http://www.missouririverclassic.com.

SDHSRA Annual Meeting will be held Sept. 24, 9 a.m. CST, at the Ramkota Amphitheatre, Pierre, S.D.

There will be a Lisa Lockhart barrel clinic Oct. 11-12 at the All Season Indoor Arena, Bowman, N.D. Tuition is $650 with a $350 deposit to hold your spot. There will be 12 riders total in the clinic with one horse per rider. The clinic is geared for advanced horses and riders and riders must be 13 years old or older and the horses need to be rodeo ready. The clinic will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can send your check to LDO Inc, 2975 97th St NW, Mohall, ND 58761. Checks will be returned if clinic is filled, and Lisa O’Keeffe will let you know whether you are in or not. For more information, call her at 701-721-9246.

SDHSRA membership dues are due by Nov. 1st. You can go to the website for all the details at http://www.sdhsra.com. Get it done now so you aren’t scrambling for all the signature at the last moment!

There have been a bunch of meetings about the overpopulation of the feral horses and burros in the west. They are literally starving and thirsting to death in many areas and have completely denuded the rangeland they are running on in doing so. The BLM estimates the population of free roaming horses and burros is at about 67,000, which is nearly 40,000 more than the appropriate management levels and growing at 20 percent every year. That’s not counting the 45,000 or so that are in long-term holding facilities at a cost of $50,000 per animal. The Advisory Board has recommended that BLM sell horses for private ownership and euthanize those that cannot be sold. Naturally, the anti-everything people are howling like they’re being disemboweled with hay hooks over the word “euthanasia”. Apparently they would rather see them, and all the wildlife around them, die of “natural” causes, which is way more humane than quick euthanasia. Right. I can only imagine how terrible starvation and dying of thirst is for them.

The antis are also throwing around the “welfare rancher” phrase and talking about the “mega cattle farms” that are being put in place of the regal “mustangs.” Makes me want to grab someone by the ears and explain it to ‘em, but they don’t want to hear and I don’t look good in jailhouse orange.

It’s about time to be setting up an appointment with your vet to have your stud colts gelded before you wean them. A hard freeze puts the flies to rest and that’s a perfect time for their life improvement surgery. Then give them a couple more weeks on mama to heal up and they’re ready to wean. It’s worked great for us for years and is way easier on those little guys than when they’re older.

Well, that winds it up for another week! Have a wonderful week and I hope your fall work is going well.