It was standing room only as the Oneida County Cowboy Classic Rodeo rolled into Thursday and Friday nights of the county fair.  The annual rodeo didn’t disappoint in the least as cowboys and cowgirls from near and far entered in to win a little cash and a little rodeo glory.  From the first queen to enter the rodeo to the last bull rider to walk out, the night was full of entertainment and excitement.

  The rodeo Thursday night began with an extra splash of action as a thunderstorm came rolling through the valley.  With thunder, lightning and an ensuing downpour close on its heels, the storm brought the rodeo to a screeching halt just as it was about to begin.  Despite the delay and soggy start, devoted rodeo fans weren’t about to let a little rain ruin a good rodeo.  With the first pull of the chute, the opening night of the rodeo went off without a hitch.

 The stock provided by Hoggan Rodeo Company pushed the contestants each rodeo night and together they put on a top notch show.  In the bareback, notoriously the most dangerous event in rodeo, there were two qualified rides to end the rodeo.  In first place was Ty Hawkes with 76 points followed by Tyson Hirschi in second place with 75 points.  

The calf roping cowboys equally struggled to get times for the rodeo. In first place was Ike Clayson with a time of 9.5 seconds with Wyatt Cutler close on his heels with 10.5 seconds.  The cowgirls roping in the breakaway found a little more success with six contestants taking home a little money in their pocket.  Tying for first place with a time of 2.9 seconds was Katelyn Evans Lili Bell. In third place was Chloe Berlin with a 3.2, followed by Shay Freeland in fourth place, behind by just one tenth of a second.  Jetta Bott and Kiara Eames tied for fifth place at 3.4 seconds to round out the top six breakaway ropers.

The cowboys had a little better luck riding out the saddle bronc with Kelly Short taking first place with 78 points.  Just a point behind him, Wyatt Lyman took home second place.  Nathanael Musser followed in third place with 71 points and Baxton Udy had the fourth place qualifying ride with 69 points.

The rodeo featured two sections of roping, both an open team roping and a #10 section.  Of the twenty two teams competing in the open team roping, Chaz Kananen and Jace Nielsen took first place with a time of 5.7 seconds.  In second place was Trevor Bott and Conor Ward with a time of 7.4. Tyler Bell and Barrett Thurston won third place with a time of 8.2 seconds, followed by Colby Siddoway and Colter Buttars in fourth place with a time of 10.2 seconds.

 Hometown father-son team of Branson and Brian Parker took first place in the #10 roping with a time of 9.7 seconds.  Just shy of the first place time was Will Cutler and Cole Gunter with a 9.8 for second place.  In third place was Kayla Erickson and Randy Wanner with 11.3 seconds.  Tim Ekstrom and BoDee Ekstrom, another Malad father-son duo, took fourth place with a time of 12.9 seconds.  In fifth place, with a time of 13.1 seconds were Will Cutler and George Swan.  Rounding out the top teams tied in sixth place were Sofie Williams and Wylee Williams and Jett VanBiezen and Brett Bartholomew with a 14.0.

Forty seven barrel racers put their hat in the ring to win big at the Cowboy Classic Rodeo.  Payton Johnson made her way around the barrels fastest with a time of 18.449 to win first place.  Not far off was Karina Coombs with a 18.845 to win second place.  In third place was Erin Johnson with a time of 19.193, followed by Tessly Talbot with a 19.219 for fourth place.

Bulldogger Cooper Stokes threw his steer 7.9 seconds to take first place at the Malad rodeo.  In second place was Cooper Seamons with a time of 8.6 seconds, third place was Tate Bailey with an 11.3 and in fourth place was Joey Haslam with a time of 12.2 seconds.

The bulls got the best of the cowboys in the bull riding event.  Over the two night rodeo, there wasn’t a qualified ride to make it past the eight second mark.  To finish out each rodeo night, a brave few competed in the Ring of Fear.  The event features ten contestants that are given a hula hoop that they have to drag around the arena as they work to avoid being the target of a loose bucking bull.  The contestants ranged from the brave-bordering-on-crazy that were willing to take a hit from the charging bull to the smart few that chickened out just after the bull would look in their direction.  The highly entertaining, adrenaline pumping event was just the ticket to end the night as a final contestant was left standing in the arena.

The Oneida County Cowboy Classic Rodeo was sponsored by Thomas Electric, Bamma Wamma’s Pop Shop, Albert’s Garage, Up the Creek, Aspen Air Design, J Peak Propane, Hotel Malad/Hubcap, Chat & Chew, Ward Feed & Seed, Keyhole Ranch, Hess Lumber, Nucor Steel, Oneida Family Dental, Harris Collison, HBS- Hess Building Contractors, Ireland Bank, Buttars Tractor, Mountain States Insurance, Semrad Service Repair, Valley Implement, Redd Roofing Co, Rupp’s Trucking and Excavation, Northwestern Mutual- Ken Tooke, Hess Napa- Truck and Auto, Mountain Valley Realty, Nell J. Redfield Memorial Hospital, Nimer Repair, Flinders Realty, Oneida Soil Water Conservation District, Farm Bureau Insurance- Kevin Degn, and OK/J7 Ranch and Trucking.