The first part of the Ennis rodeo was at 8PM tonight. We arrived early to be able to obtain good seats. They were the 5th row up in the center. Before the rodeo started young girls rode their horses around the arena to dry out the dirt. It rained today at around 5PM, so everything was wet. The rodeo lasted 2 1/2 hours and was very enjoyable. The weather was perfect because the rain storm cooled it off from the 88 it was earlier. The sky started turning a bright pink to the east as the sun was setting.
The very first rodeo in Ennis was in the late 1800s shortly after gold was discovered in Virginia City. People came over the high hill from Virginia City to watch horses run. On the 4th of July they would run horses, foot races and had a great dinner at noon. Ennis's Main Street had the first "bucking horses" corralled in Bill Ennis' livery barn.The riders mounted the broncs right in front of the livery stable and ran down the middle of the street with no time limit. The cowboy tried to ride as long as the horse was bucking. A barb wire fence kept the horses away from the people. No admission was charged because a hat was passed around to collect money for the rider. The saloon men donated heavily because they benefited the most from these contests. The biggest contests were on the 4th, but bucking contests were held any Sunday afternoon. The riders were just very good horsemen, not rodeo bronc riders.
In 1912 Larry Dunn built a round corral at the lower end of Main Street to house the bucking contests. Still there was no time limit and the hat was passed around for the contributions.The events included only saddle broncs and bareback horses with mane holding only. There was no calf roping or bulldogging. The riders would jump off the bucking horse onto the fence because the corral was small. The audience in those days was very small, just some boys watching about 20 or 30 men riding. The actual horse race was held up and down Main Street. Of course the McCallister family had the best race horses and won most of those races. In 1921 another corral was built just south of the baseball diamond. So after the ball games were over the people would then go to the corral to watch the fun. The first organized rodeo was put on under the hill here by Charley Manley and Tom Lane because they charged admission and the people sat on the sidehill watching. They had built chutes for saddling and mounting, but no pickup men to catch the horses after. But these horses were wild, not rodeo stock; so they had to rope them. This was an opportunity to show off the cowboy's roping skills.
Today there are special rodeo stock horses and many more events. Tonight we had Bareback Riding, Steer Wrestling, Tie Down Roping, Saddle Bronc, Ladies Barrel Racing, Junior Barrel Racing, Team Roping, the top 6 of Saddle Bronc perform again, Ladies Breakaway Roping, Junior Breakaway Roping and Bull Riding.
The Calf Roping was the most skilled and speed was the essential element. The calf was given a head start and then the roper and his horse lunged forward with a " piggin'string" between his teeth and his rope. He roped the calf, dismounted, ran down the rope, threw the calf down and tied 3 of the calf's legs together in a legal tie as fast as he could. After the calf was tied the roper could not touch the calf and The calf must remain tied and not be able to stand up for 6 seconds.This skill is necessary on most every ranch and is used to brand and ear mark the cattle. A good cowhand can do this to 100 calves in a day and still have time to go into town for a hamburger!
Steer Wrestling is like " trying to tackle a freight train by jumping off a cliff" as one rodeo contestant exaggerated! the horses are very important in this sport because they need to be able to run fast, at least 30 mph and help in outwitting the steer. The Dogger must time everything accurately to be able to wrestle barehanded a 400 to 750 pound steer to the ground. Another horseman called a "Hazer" runs his horse on the far side of the steer to keep the steer running straight. Then the Dogger must jump off his horse onto the steer and grab his horns to twist him to the ground. The steer must be on his side or back and all 4 feet straight. This skill is also necessary on most ranches.
In the Barrel Races the rider is dependent on the strength, speed and agility of the horse. It is a timed event where she must go around three barrels positioned in a cloverleaf pattern without knocking the barrel over. The barrel can be touched without a penalty. The skill here is for a good horse to be able to dig in to keep tight footing on the sharp turns. The horse must be able to bend in low and whisker close in making smooth turns around the barrels. on the home stretch they go as fast as possible to make up for any lost time. The timing starts at the point at which the horse's nose reaches the starting line and ends where the horse's nose reaches over the finish line.
The Ladies Breakaway Roping is similar to the Men's calf roping, but the ladies do not jump off their horses to tie the calf or steer. The rope must pass over the animal's head and then tighten on any part of the animal. Then the rope breaks away from a small string attached to the saddle. Legal catches are a horn catch, a half head catch or a neck catch. The catch is timed from the time the contestant leaves the barrier until the rope breaks free. This skill requires many hours of practice before it reaches championship level. This event's origin is unknown and this skill is not practical for use on a ranch.
The fastest rodeo event of all is Team Roping. The 2 cowboys on their horses must both rope the steer. The first roper, called the Header, must rope the horns of the steer, wrap the rope around his saddle horn and pull the steer so the other cowboy, called the Heeler, can rope the 2 hind feet. Once the feet are secure, the Heeler then wraps the rope around his saddle horn. This is called "take a dally". At this point the steer is stretched tight between both cowboys and the time is then clocked.There is a 10 second penalty for breaking the barrier before the steer and a 5 second penalty if only 1 hind leg is roped. This event seemed to be the most difficult tonight.
Bull Riding is the most dangerous event in the rodeo. The only rule is to stay on the bull for Eight Seconds! The problem is the bull can weigh up to 5000 pounds, can step on the rider, hook him, kick him with a hind foot or even mash him against the fence or maul him. When the cowboy falls off, the clowns try to distract the bull to protect the cowboy. The cowboy must hold on with only one hand with a loose rope with no knots. The event is timed from when the bull starts out of the chute until the cowboy falls off. if the bull falls, the cowboy receives a re-ride.
Bareback Riding must be done with a one-hand rigging and the cowboy's heels must be over the break of the horse's shoulders. The cowboy must not touch the horse with his other hand and must remain on the bucking horse for Eight Seconds. The cowboy with the wildest and most out of control ride will score the best possible score. The cowboy needs to be able to anticipate irregular movements of the bucking horse! The cowboy is timed from the time they enter from the chute until he falls off or the Pickup man pulls him off.
All of the contestants in these events were local or from somewhere within the state of Montana. It was an awesome night!!!!
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