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RODEO 2016 SOUVENIR

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Inside the

JACKSON

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RODEO

P.O. Box 7445 Jackson, WY 83002 (307) 733-2047 www.jhnewsandguide.com PUBLISHER: Kevin Olson ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Adam Meyer PROJECT EDITORS: Richard Anderson, Emma Breysse PHOTOGRAPHY: Photo editor: Bradly J. Boner Contributing photographers: Bradly J. Boner, Price Chambers, Ryan Jones, Alexandra Mihale, Sophia Jaramillo COPY EDITORS: Johanna Love EDITORIAL DESIGN: Sarah Grengg WRITERS: Richard Anderson, Emma Breysse, Isa Jones, Mike Koshmrl, Clark Forster, Frances Moody, Erika Dahlby AD PRODUCTION MANAGER: Lydia Redzich ADVERTISING ARTISTS: Lydia Redzich Sarah Grengg Natalie Connell ACCOUNT COORDINATOR: Oliver O’Connor ADVERTISING SALES: Karen Brennan Chad Repinski Tom Hall Matt Cardis Andra Adamson Foster PRODUCTION: Jeff Young

RYAN JONES / News&Guide

A bull waits for his moment in the spotlight as the crowds roar at the Jackson Hole Rodeo.

Minor Changes at Rodeo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Teton County Rodeo Grounds are tweaked at tail end of $1.4 million upgrade.

A Lifelong Love of Barrels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Training, athleticism and trust in your horse are key.

Learning the Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Kids getting into rodeo start slow, work their way up.

Rodeo Royals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Princesses work as ambassadors of the sport.

Rodeo Rookie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Bull rider takes on the sport at the “advanced age” of 34.

Western Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

PRESSMEN: Dale Fjeldsted Johnathan Leyva Steve Livingston

Jackson Hole News&Guide photographers catch moments from the arena.

CIRCULATION: Kyra Griffin Hank Smith Jeff Young Georgi McCarthy

An Early Start in the Ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Turning Tools into Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Saddle maker Keith Valley got his start as most cowboys do — fixing his broken gear. Four-year-old Bear Emlyn loves rodeo. Read about how he began mutton busting.

The Family that Rodeos Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 A bronc-busting deputy cheers on his kids as they compete.

JH Rodeo Autographs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Here’s a spot that might be worth some money someday.

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Minor

CHANGES

To rodeo after big changes in 2015 By Clark Forster

he Jackson Hole Rodeo grounds and its 26-acre arena underwent changes in 2015 that took the fan friendly atmosphere to new heights. There’s a $50,000 sound system, new crow’s nest, new fencing and livestock pens. New restrooms were added to the facility as well and additional restrooms and concession stands were built throughout April and May of 2016 as the upgrades continue. The arena is winding down on its current round of upgrades, which began in 2010 with tax funds approved by voters. Rodeo owner Phil Wilson said the fans have already taken to the improvements. “Having a new appearance around here with new pens, new crow’s nest, new fencing all the way around ... the appearance is what a lot of people see and

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that helps,” Wilson said. “It makes for a better first appearance-type thing. When people pull up and look at it they’re pretty impressed.” Two thousand rodeo fans fill the place to capacity nearly every rodeo throughout the summer. Fans are mostly tourists but locals don’t miss out on the fun either because there’s always something new going on. In 2016 a new event will team kids and adults together for team roping. But nobody between the age of 16 and 40 is allowed, said Wilson. “We are introducing what’s called 16-40 roping which means you have to be younger than 16 and older than 40 in order to rope together,” Wilson said. “Young kids can’t compete with these older ones, that’s just a pure fact. But in this event they can.” The event could be a family affair as

fathers and sons could ride together. Or a there could be a lone young roper who is just looking for a partner. The new event is expected to be introduced in June. One can go to a rodeo and not understand what they’re watching so the Jackson Hole Rodeo has introduced something in 2016 that will teach fans both young and old. “Cowboys and Kids,” written by Penny Conway, is a laminated book with games for kids that also serves as a teaching tool. “It’s a 101 rodeo book. It tells all about how we take care of our rodeo stock, why bareback riding, where it came from, saddle bronc, roping,” Wilson said. “It’s a really neat informational book that we’re putting out.” The books are available for purchase at each and every rodeo.

New fencing and chutes are just a part of several upgrades to the Jackson Hole Rodeo Arena at the Teton County Fairgrounds.

2016 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

THE LIFELONG

love By Isa Jones

he first time Sarah Andrews ever competed in barrel racing, she was just a 3-year-old. At the time, her older sister Claire — who herself is an accomplished rodeo girl — was competing through the Jackson Hole Barrel Racing Association, and Sarah wanted to emulate her sister. Her first competition, as a toddler, did not go that well.

BRADLY J. BONER / NEWS&GUIDE

of Barrel Racing

“I wasn’t going very fast at that time, but it was still fun,” Andrews said. Fourteen years later, Andrews’ speed has certainly improved. She is currently fourth in the state in the pole bending event and an avid rider, competing in both barrel racing and pole bending. Now a junior at Jackson Hole High School, she has entered the Jackson Hole Rodeo for multiple years and is more in love with the sport than ever.

“You meet some really great people,” Andrews said. “The sport is exciting and the horse and you, you create such a strong bond with each other.” Barrel racing is a timed event. Each competitor has to race through a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels, with the fastest time winning. It takes a lot of training, athleticism and trust in your horse. Andrews’ mount is a quarter horse >> continued on page 7

Claire Andrews rounds the second barrel while competing in the high school rodeo at the Heritage Arena.

2016 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

JACLYN BOROWSKI / courtesy photo

With her horse, Cowboy, Kathy Lucas competes in the barrel racing competition at the Teton County Fair Rodeo.

2016 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

Come Visit Us at the

>> continued from page 5

named Woody, who she’s had for nine years and is “perfect, and awesome,” she said. “He came with the name [Woody], but it was love at first sight, because when I was a kid I always carried the Woody toy [from ‘Toy Story’] around everywhere with me.” In addition to barrel racing and pole bending, Andrews is also involved with rodeo royalty, having competed in the Rodeo Royalty Pageant for seven years now. “I love meeting people and talking to the crowd and talking to them about rodeo,” Andrews said, plus “figuring out where people are from and hearing their stories.” Her favorite part?

famous

SALOON & GRILL ! !

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“I get to be an ambassador for the rodeo.” Andrews will be competing at the rodeo this year, but her real goal is to make it to the High School pole bending nationals. If she can keep her fourth place status, or move up higher in the rankings, the goal will become reality. To her, there’s nothing better than racing, and sometimes watching. “It is so exciting to watch cowgirls go super fast in the clover leaf pattern,” she said. “It’s very exciting and the anticipation of whether they’re gonna knock [a barrel] over or make it around the barrel makes you hold your breath … It’s thrilling.”

4-10 Daily

ALEXANDRA MIHALE / NEWS&GUIDE

Niki Lynes of Jackson rounds a barrel at the Heritage Arena.

2016 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

Rodeo

Lore

It's a big day tomorrow. Do you know where your breakfast is?

Rodeo isthe officialsport ofWyoming,

where the silhouette of a bucking horse (a notoriously unrideable steed named “Steamboat,” according to some sources) and rider is the state trademark. The logo probably goes back to World War I, when it was worn as the insignia of the Wyoming National Guard.

Rodeo isalsothe official sport of South Dakota

and Texas. Mexico’s version, charreada, is that country’s national sport, and rodeo is also quite popular in Canada. Alberta even considered making rodeo its official sport, but it hasn’t yet passed the resolution.

In addition to the U.S., Mexico and Canada, rodeo at-

tracts big crowds in Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Australia.

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learning 2016 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

THE BASICS

Kids getting into rodeo start slow,work their way up By Erika Dahlby

hen Callaway Wilson turned 6 in January he knew exactly what he wanted to do for his birthday:

Ryan Jones / NEWS&GUIDE

ride his bull. Well, a mini bull. His dad, professional bull rider Buskin Wilson, packed up Callaway and his mini bull and headed to Idaho Falls so he could practice in a covered

Young cowboys pray before competing at Jackson Hole Rodeo.

arena. “He’s got big dreams,” mother Brandi Wilson said. Callaway lives and breathes rodeo, asking every night if he can ride his mini bull Big Tex

at their home south of town. But the real magic starts when he’s in the arena, all decked out like his dad in boots, a vest and bolo tie. He tightens the strap, >> continued on page 11

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hops on his bull, rides him around and then jumps off, all while putting on a show for the crowd. But he’s also got another favorite activity, bull fighting. “I like tricking the bull when I’m bull fighting,” he said. Most of the youngsters will begin the process of riding bulls by starting with mutton busting (sheep riding) at age 3 or 4, but Callaway skipped right over that step because he didn’t like sheep, and their smell. After mutton busting, kids transition to mini bulls around age 6. They smell like a bull, look like a bull but don’t buck hard, if at all, said Phil Wilson, the organizer of the rodeo. Finally when they reach their freshman year of high school they are able to ride the real bulls. “It’s all about building confidence,” Phil Wilson said.

“They’ve got to have heart and desire.” Usually about 30 kids participate in the rodeo events whether it’s mutton busting, mini bull riding, bull fighting or barrel racing and roping. A lot of the kids who participate in the rodeo do so from a young age, and either live on ranches or have parents who do rodeo. For the kids who don’t have parents that do rodeo (or grew up on ranches), a rodeo school is offered throughout the summer for them to learn the basics. Phil Wilson said that the kids aren’t allowed out in the arena until they’ve proven they can ride or have attended the rodeo school. With the rodeo, it’s all about learning the basics and working your way up. There’s also something to say about the passion the youngsters foster for the rodeo, it becomes a sport they love. “Our future is the young kids,” Phil Wilson said.

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Royals 2016 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

Rodeo

promoting the

cowboy lifestyle

By Frances Moody

he princesses in Teton County Fair and Rodeo Royalty feel it’s their job to represent Western culture. Fair manager Tracy Ross decided they couldn’t be doing a better job when a photo of two royalty members was printed in National Geographic’s May 2016 Yellowstone edition. “The fair’s mission statement is to promote and preserve the Western heritage,” Ross said. “I think we couldn’t ask for a better platform than landing in a National Geographic Magazine highlighting the American West.” In order to represent the cowboy and rodeo lifestyle the princesses and attendants who appear in the Jackson Hole Rodeo, flags in hand, have to compete in a pageant that takes place each July during the Teton County Fair. The girls hoping to win titles such as Pewee Princess, Junior Princess and Senior Princess have to showcase their speechmaking and horsemanship skills. Claire Andrews, 18, who is the rodeo royalty’s Lady in Waiting and oldest member, said both talents help her demonstrate the importance of Western heritage. “Horsemanship is the big-

RYAN JONES / NEWS&GUIDE

Fair Manager Tracy Ross crowns Sarah Katherine Andrews following the Teton County Fair and Rodeo Royalty Pageant last year.

gest part of the competition,” Andrews said. “If you’re chosen to represent the sport of rodeo, you want to be able to

have people look at you and say, ‘Wow! She really knows what she is doing.’” By acting as an ambas-

sador for a sport designed to test the skills required of cowgirls and cowboys, An>> continued on page 13

2016 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

>> continued from page 12

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drews often finds herself correcting misconceptions people have about rodeo. People often come to her with questions about animal welfare and treatment, which is when she puts her public speaking talent to use. “Some people will ask me to tell them about calf roping,” Andrews said. “They want to know if it hurts. It’s my job to explain that cowboys for hundreds of years have been roping calves to doctor them.” In addition to helping preserve the cowboy lifestyle that is unique to Wyoming and the West, Andrews believes being in rodeo royalty has helped her grow as a person. Queen coordinator Jennifer Cyr also thinks the program helps young girls and women discover self-confidence.

“When girls start with rodeo royalty they are terrified to speak in public,” Cyr said. “I’m excited to see this year’s girls blossom and for public speaking to be something they are not afraid of.” Andrews, who has competed in the pageant since she was 7 years old, said her time there has helped her succeed at Montana State University. “I was really shy when I was little,” Andrews said. “It made a really big difference when I went to college this year and had to give speeches and get up and talk.” Andrews said she hopes to become the Teton County Fair and Rodeo Queen so she can continue to share with others what she’s learned as a rodeo royalty. “It’s really improved my knowledge of the Western way of life a whole,” she said.

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Rookies 2016 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

RODEO

in it

TOGETHER

In the bullpen,veterans help out newcomers By Mike Koshmrl

oran resident Josh Bennett decided to turn himself into a bullfighter in his 30s, a move that in itself makes him an unconventional rodeo rookie.

SOFIA JARAMILLO / News&Guide File

“I started way late in the game,” Bennett said. “I started riding bulls when most of these guys were shutting it down or retiring.” Most bull riders, by contrast, begin to compete before high school age, even as young

tots. But even though Bennett’s a latecomer, he’s found that other rodeo competitors welcomed him into an inclusive culture where hazing the rookie has no place. “These kids grew up in the rodeo culture and it’s their

life,” Bennett said. “There’s no picking on anybody or anything like that. Everybody is out there trying to help the next guy.” Raised in Georgia, Bennett, 34, has come to realize >> continued on page 19

Whether you’re a veteran or a first-season rider, the Jackson Hole Rodeo is a place for camaraderie as well as competition.

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Views WESTERN

Ryan Jones / NEWS&GUIDE Ryan Jones / NEWS&GUIDE

September evening sunset at the Teton County Fairgrounds.

BRADLY J. BONER / news&guide

High School Rodeo summer 2015 at the Teton County Fairgrounds.

Ashlyn Chamberland leads the Teton County Rodeo royalty during the 2015 Old West Days parade in downtown Jackson.

2016 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE

Bull rider Dylan Grant gets ejected from 123 Dog Town in the summer of 2015 at the Jackson Hole Rodeo.

PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE

Tyler Erickson, of Wheatland, holds on for a qualified ride on Liberty Bell at the Wyoming High School Rodeo in 2015. Erickson scored 58 on the ride.

Ryan Jones / NEWS&GUIDE

A saddle bronc competitor takes his time preparing for his ride.

Ryan Jones / NEWS&GUIDE

Young cowboys having a chat at Jackson Hole Rodeo.

2016 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM >> continued from page 14

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that there’s a steep learning curve to mastering the art of adhering oneself to a 1,500-pound bucking bull’s back. Late last year he even won a two-night finals competition, but he humbly says that could have been a stroke of good luck. “Most of them, if not all, of the bull riders are better than me,” Bennett said, “but it’s just like any other sport.” Fellow newcomer Seth Wilson is less than half Bennett’s age at 16, but this year will be sharpening his skills as a bull fighter. Wilson used to ride bulls, but made the choice to step away from a sport that has its hazards. “I kept getting knockedout when I rode them,” Wilson said. In his new gig, Wilson will test his fate with charging bulls during freestyle competition and also to save bucked riders like Bennett from get-

ting stomped. “I’m looking forward to having a good time and stepping around a couple,” Wilson said. In the barrel racing competition for the first time a year ago, Clare Haynie spent the season figuring out what she was doing. “The horses go a lot faster than it looks and it’s a lot more than just hanging on and letting them go,” Haynie said. “It’s kind of like trying to drive a Lamborghini with it floored.” This year Haynie was hopeful that she’d be competitive. Regardless, she’s eager to again rub shoulders with her rodeo companions and take in the camaraderie. “You see the same people there every week and everybody’s working toward the same goals,” Haynie said. “It’s a family.”

2016 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

turning tools

into art

By Emma Breysse

eith Valley took the long road to being his own boss. And most of it has been traveled on horseback. Valley is the owner, operator and only employee of Cowboy Saddlery and Interiors, with workshops in downtown Jackson and Wilson to create handmade, handtooled saddles and leather goods. Getting his start as a teenager doing ranch work in Alabama and repairing his own saddles, Valley now spends most of each year putting together saddles and other projects for clients around the world. One saddle on his website, CowboySaddlery.com, is advertised for $12,000. Moving to Jackson has meant taking experience from a job selling eyeglasses at an optometrist’s office to pay the bills and turning it into the savvy necessary to operate an unusual business in a climate that’s always changing. His detailed saddles take at least a month to make, including the time he tries to schedule to ride in the Tetons. He sat down at his downtown Jackson studio to talk about learning how to be a businessman, what it’s like to fire himself and his journey from cowboy to craftsman. >> continued on page 21

BRADLY J. BONER / NEWS&GUIDE

Saddle maker Keith Valley crafts fine custom saddles, tooled belts, handbags, spur straps and other leatherwork.

21 >> continued from page 20

Q A

Starting with the basics, how did you even learn how to make a saddle? What does a person do to learn that? When I started developing an interest I was working horses, and eventually you break something and you repair your own and then you start looking at it and you realize that if you repair it enough eventually you have a whole new saddle made. So you tear it down and you build it back and I think

BRADLY J. BONER / NEWS&GUIDE

2016 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM for most cowboys, especially those who have gone into saddle making, that’s how they start, by repairing and then making your own rig kind of to suit their own size and height and then maybe to fit their horse better.

Q A

So how old were you at the time you were doing all that?

I was about 12 when I bought my first horse. And that’s about the same time I bought my own saddle and then you start

having to repair them, so as a teenager I was dinking around with saddles. Then I had a friend of mine as I got older working horses and running around a ranch out in Alabama. He had a saddle shop and his arthritis was kicking in so he asked me to help him carve some of the art. That spurred my interest and I saw where the saddle industry could be more reliable than training horses, a little bit more of a secure income. When I really decided to make it serious I moved to Montana.

Q A

What brought you here to Jackson?

After learning how to make saddles I took a caretaking job here in town. Then Don King, who was a legend in the saddlemaking industry, passed away in 2007. In 2008 they had a Don King memorial saddle contest. I had the saddle that I made up and my wife said, “You have to enter it, you have to enter it.” To me it didn’t cut it, but it won the show. And after that the business, it grew wings.

Keith Valley’s saddles reveal an extraordinary level of attention to detail. Valley said some of his saddles can take up to a year to finish.

2016 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

>> continued from page 21

Q A

So how do you operate here? What’s your set up?

Well, in the summer I rent a back room in Grand Teton Realty to do my work and I have a little bit of a showroom up here in the front office. In the winter I have a place in Wilson where I can keep an eye on my horses and get some work done. You have some saddle makers that are just hobbyists, but you really need to do it full time. You need to make a lot of saddles to make it efficient. Repetition is the mother of retention. I work for myself, too, and I work alone. The arguments are very dramatic. I fire myself every week at least twice because the insubordination is intolerable.

What determines the prices of your saddles?

BRADLY J. BONER / NEWS&GUIDE

One of the big things is the time. With a tooled saddle, I could make five plain saddles in the time it takes me to get that one done. So I have to make sure I’m getting paid a fair hourly rate. I also do more traditional work, with the wooden trees and the bottom layer is leather. There are some guys, not knocking any maker or label at all, who will experiment with cheaper woods or even plastic. I personally prefer the traditional way. It’s proven itself over hundreds of years and the proof ’s in the pudding as they say. And then there’s your energy. You’ve only got so many hours, so many years in your tendons. So you have to price it accordingly, too. You have to think about retirement even though you don’t really want to think about slowing down. You have to because there’s scientific proof that your tendons are eventually going to make you.

Saddle by craftsman Keith Valley.

early 2016 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

START RING IN

THE

By Clark Forster

hen 4-year-old Bear Emlyn finishes riding his sheep during the mutton busting competition each Saturday at the Jackson Hole Rodeo, he always displays his faith while emulating his bull-riding heroes and exciting the crowd. When the sheep has finally thrown Bear to the dirt, the toddler proceeds to hustle out of the way before dropping to a knee and pointing to the heavens. “He learned that from some of his bull riding heros,” said Bear’s father, Ricky Emlyn. “It’s something he’s been doing since he was 2.” Emlyn started his kids young and often sees Bear and big sister Brynn, 7, compete throughout the summer as one of the youngest pairs of cowboy and cowgirl the show has to offer. But while Bear is riding sheep, Brynn is on much larger livestock. Brynn competes in barrel racing six to eight times a month against many girls nearly twice her age. She rides her horse Cali and loves to perform for the crowd. “It’s cool cause I get to ride my horse in front of people,” she said. It’s a family affair each Saturday at the rodeo as the siblings put on a show for close to 2,000 people. And when the kids aren’t preparing to hit the dirt, they can often be found front row with their mother, Jodi, cheering each other on. Their younger sister Brea, 2, will debut as a barrel racer this year. And the ap>> continued on page 24

PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE

A ride on the back of a sheep — called mutton bustin’ — is often a young cowboy or cowgirl’s first experience in the rodeo arena.

2016 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM >> continued from page 23

plause from his family is Bear’s favorite part. “When my mom cheers me on and I win,” the 2015 mutton busting co-champion said. “I don’t even cry and I don’t even quit.” When the future bull rider isn’t taking in the action behind the chute, he can often be seen high-fiving his fellow cowboys. That is when he’s not trying to hop on the same livestock of his elder competitors. “I gotta watch him because just a couple weeks ago he tried to get on one of the big bulls,” Emlyn said. “He was on one of the rails and he was throwing a leg over and I ran over and asked him what he was doing, and he just told me ‘It’s time to get on.’” This is Bear’s second year in the rodeo and the first for Brynn. But from the stands, you could never tell. Brynn leaves the arena with the same smile on her face she entered with. Even after Cali speeds around the corner of the barrels and leaves Brynn hanging on with all her might. Brother and sister are often two of the final acts of the night and give the crowd a preview of the future generation of barrel racers and mutton busters. When they’re not in action, Bear can be found riding pops around the living room of their Red Top home while Brynn is practicing her figure-eights through a nearby aspen patch. It’s a lifestyle that has the kids active at an early age, doing what they have so quickly grown to love. “I’m humbled,” Emlyn said. “I love that they love the lifestyle and love the horses. Rodeo is a family sport, and it’s a time for us to be together.”

Rodeo

Lore RODEO EVENTS originated as early as the 18th century in Mexico and what today is the American Southwest, where vaqueros — the Spanish version of cowboys — would try to outdo one another in the skills needed to perform their jobs: riding, roping, handling stock and the like.

The word “rodeo” comes straight from Spanish: “Rodeo” comes from the verb “rodear,” meaning “to surround” or “to go around.”

Casualcontests

were popular in the early 1800s. The first organized competition, however, was held in Cheyenne in 1872. The first professional rodeo, at which prizes were awarded, occurred in 1888 in Prescott, Arizona.

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2016 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM

Family that the

rodeos together...

Bronco-busting deputy cheers on second generation By Emma Breysse

nce upon a time, Chad Sachse was a traveling bronco rider who came to Jackson Hole for the ro-

deo. Now a deputy for the Teton County Sheriff ’s Office, you’ll still see him at the Jackson Hole Rodeo most weekends in the summer. The difference is that now Sachse is riding a bucket seat, and his teenage daughter and 13-year-old son are the ones in the arena. Sachse has ridden rodeo since the summer spectacle was in Wilson, more than 20 years ago. It moved to Jackson shortly after he arrived. He started out in his native Texas, where rodeo is almost as big as football, he said. He concentrated on riding bucking broncos, doing his best to stay on and win points and buckles all around the country. Eventually he followed his passion to Jackson. After the Wilson rodeo was bought out, he stayed for his wife, who also rides but who sticks to English style horsemanship. Sachse thought his family’s rodeo history had run its course when his two oldest daughters showed no interest in the cowboy arts. His daughter Chandler’s performance in the last two Jackson Hole Rodeo seasons says otherwise, though. Riding horses Spice and Jett, the >> continued on page 26

Josh Myers / Trekking Photography

Chandler Sachse saddles her horse, Spice, before a barrel racing competition last year in Teton Valley. Sachse is a second-generation participant of the Jackson Hole Rodeo.

2016 JACKSON HOLE RODEO SOUVENIR PROGRAM >> continued from page 25

17-year-old Victor, Idaho, resident was sixth overall in the 1D barrel racing standings for the entire summer in 2014 and seventh overall in 3D standings for 2015. She makes it over the hill for the sport as often as time and scheduling allows. An avid 4-H participant and a high school rodeo athlete in Teton Valley, she caught the bug bad. At first Sachse and his wife thought it might be something she would grow out of, until one night when neither parent could take her to a 4-H meeting. When she said she would walk herself there, Sachse said he knew his daughter was serious about horses and riding. That seemed to be it. Then, two years ago, her younger brother announced he wanted to start riding bulls. He’s been competing in mini bulls ever since. “Usually you start with mutton busting and work on up,” Sachse said, “but he was never that interested until that one night. He just told me he wanted to give it a try, and so I said OK, he could.” The Jackson Hole Rodeo, and the Wilson family, which operates the event, has a “great, great program” for introducing kids to bull riding, Sachse said. The Wilsons choose mini bulls specifically for younger, less experienced riders and make sure they have a progression of levels as they get better and better, he said. “I’m glad to share this with my kids,” Sachse said. “I’d be proud of them no matter what they did, but they’ve both said this is what they want to do and I’ll support them as long as that’s the case.”

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TOWNOFJACKSON

Willow St.

Kelly Ave.

Pearl Ave.

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS 1. Shades of Jackson Hole

pg 1

2. Teton Motors

pg 3

3. Virginian Lodge & Saloon

pg 7

4. Jackson Hole Hat Company

pg 8

5. McDonald’s

pg 8

6. Sands Whitewater & Scenic Raft Trips

pg 10

7. Jackson Hole Airport

pg 11

8. Jackson Hole Feed & Pet Supply

pg 11

JH RODEO

King St.

9. Jackson Hole Historical Society & Museum

pg 13

10. Jackson Hole Buffalo Meat Co.

pg 13

11. Barker-Ewing Whitewater & Scenic Raft Trips

pg 15 & 16

reek

12. Gun Barrel Steak House

pg 19

13. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort

pg 19

14. MacPhail’s Burgers

pg 22

15. Bar J Chuckwagon

pg 24

16. Big R Ranch & Home

pg 26

17. St. John’s Medical Center

pg 26

18. Jackson Hole Rodeo

pg 27

19. Boot Barn

pg 30

20. Wyoming Outfitters

pg 31

20 7

1 Cache Dr.

ree k

Snow King Ave.

E. Broadway

Fla

Deloney Ave.

Gill Ave.

Town Square

Hansen Ave.

Center St.

Glenwood St.

Millward St.

Jackson St.

Flat C

Dr. ow

Sn ve. gA

Kin

ad W. Bro

way

Virginian Ln.

19 12

Scott Ln.

Powederhorn Ln.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE JACKSON HOLE RODEO, VISIT JHRODEO.COM.

Pub Place

High School Rd

Loop

To Driggs Idaho

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16 South

Meadowlark Ln.

To Teton Village

Maple Way

Buffalo Way

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