FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              October 27, 2003

ANNUAL RANGER RODEO STARTS THURSDAY, 450 CONTESTANTS EXPECTED

            The annual Ranger Rodeo presented by Northwestern Oklahoma State University will have its opening performance at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, at the Woods County Fairgrounds Arena. Approximately 450 student competitors from more than 20 colleges and universities are expected to participate. The rodeo is a sanctioned event of the Central Plains Region of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association.

Performances start at 7:30 p.m., on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Advance tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children. At the door, tickets will be $6 and $4, respectively. Tickets are being sold by all rodeo team members and by coach Tim Kolb, who can be reached at (580) 327-8688.

“Everyone should be really excited about the rodeo because it is a great event for the community,” Kolb said. “That many competitors, along with their families and friends, being in town for at least two days mean a real boost to the community’s economy.”

“Rodeo Days” will held on the square for Alva’s elementary school children on Thursday morning from 9:15 a.m. until approximately 1:45 p.m. Rodeo team members will be on hand to explain the different events and demonstrate some of them.

Ten to 12 contestants in each of the nine collegiate rodeo events will be on center stage

during the Thursday and Friday night performances. The top 10 in each event will return for the championship go-round on Saturday night.

            The events are bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, men’s calf roping, women’s breakaway calf roping, steer wrestling, goat tying, team roping, barrel racing and bull riding.

            The rest of the contestants will appear in the “slack” performances after the Thursday

night performance and at 9 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday mornings. Participation in the performance or slack rounds is decided by random draw.

            Special events will occur at each evening performance. Thursday night will be children’s night and will feature a children’s calf scramble. Approximately 10 to 15 calves will be used, with several animals marked to denote prize winners.

Friday will be Northwestern student night and students will be admitted for $4 with appropriate I.D. cards. There will be team competition in a wild cow milking contest.

            On Saturday night, when event and team winners are determined, there will be a relay race down the arena and back by cowboys and cowgirls representing different schools. However, they will all be on foot—not horseback.

            Several newcomers will be making their first appearances at the Ranger Rodeo. Announcer Monty Stueve of Perry has been announcing rodeos for the past five years and was the 2002 and 2003 American Calf Roping Association Announcer of the Year.

            Enid bullfighters Terry Stough and Justin Willard have both appeared at the Oklahoma High School Finals Rodeo and are up-and-coming bullfighters in the region.

“Our team has been busy getting ready for our rodeo and practicing hard so they can make a good showing at home,” Kolb said. “I’m really proud of our student-athletes and their

diligence because putting on a rodeo this size takes a lot of work. In addition, our practice sessions last about three and a half hours each day and every team member is there. They work hard and I know it is going to pay off.”

Northwestern currently has several students in the top 15 in Central Plains rankings.

The women’s team is in fourth place and the men’s team currently is eighth, and both are looking to improve those standings after this weekend’s action.

In individual standings, Rowdy Bailey, Welch sophomore, is in 11th place in saddle bronc riding. In calf roping, Barry Burk, Ponca City senior, is in second place; Jeff Pettit, Alva senior, fifth; Jesse Tierney, Hermosa, S.D., senior, seventh; Clay Cowan, Highmore, S.D., sophomore, and Tyler Garten, Kingman, Kan., junior, tied for 12th; and Jordan Holland, Dillon, Mont., senior, 15th.

In steer wrestling, Garten is in third place; Russell Schieber, Newkirk senior, tied for fourth; Troy Bryant, Laverne junior, eighth; and Cowan, tied for 10th. Leading headers in team roping include Colt Braden, Dewey junior, second; Tierney, fourth; and Health Nolte, Lenapah senior, sixth.

On the women’s side, Rebecca Johnson, Glenwood, Iowa, senior, is 14th in barrel racing, while Amy Bailey, Copan junior, is 15th. Teddi Winfrey, Plains, Kan., freshman, is fourth in goat tying and Jessica McMillin, Goodland, Kan., senior, is tied for seventh.

-NW-

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