TRAVEL
The death-defying pageantry
of Pendleton Round-Up
includes jumping racetrack
rails and hot laps on the track
with rodeo royalty, Kendra
Torrey leading the pack.
PENDLETON, Oregon - There’s magic sleeping in the small
Oregon Trail town that glitters between the banks of the
Umatilla River at the foot of Deadman Pass. On the second
full week in September, that magic comes vividly alive when
the Western loving world converges there for the world-
renowned Pendleton Round-Up.
Originating in 1910, whe n the Wild West of legend was
starting to find itself becoming tamed, the first performance
was billed as ‘a frontier exhibition of picturesque pastimes,
Indian and military spectacles, cowboy racing and bronco
busting for the championship of the Northwest.’ After 108
years, the town event still holds spectacularly true to its
original vision. Local businesses close so proprietors can
volunteer their time, enjoy the fruits of their year-long labors of
love and greet incoming guests and old friends.
The Cavalry comes to town. Tipi Village is raised in the
traditional way and inhabited by Native families from several
different tribes. Tours of the subterranean world of the turn of
the century Pendleton Underground give visitors a taste of the
lives led by industrious Chinese railroad workers who, once
connected East to West, found themselves unwanted in the
land of milk and honey and needed a way to live unthreatened.
The cowboy culture is celebrated everywhere from the
world’s largest horse drawn parade, the Westward Ho, led
by the Pendleton Round-Up mounted marching band to the
always colorful re-enactment of Western and local history that
emerges nightly amid the painted backdrops and steepish
grandstands of Happy Canyon, the arena-adjacent outdoor
venue with the retro Wild West Show feel.
Tradition is king. Every champion bronc rider of the century has
grabbed a bunk, shower and the sweet hospitality of Severe
Saddlery, housed in the old military barracks that overlooks
the world-famous Pendleton Woolen Mills and historic town
from high on top of airport hill. Randy Severe handcrafts all
the trophy saddles awarded annually to winners, the place
is always filled with great cowboys of the past and present,
the rich smell of leather, tales tall and small, hot coffee, the
signature Pendleton Whisky first created to honor committee
members and now grown to an international brand. Guitar
and fiddle music is always a probability when traveling
contestants and the Severe family get together. Severe’s are
all as talented with a pick, bow or piano as they are in coaxing
masterpieces of leatherwork from humble cowhides.
Then there’s the rodeo itself, where only the addition of a
modern sound system and electronic leader board have
changed since the original production. No sponsor signage,
no music during the grand entry, still on the original football
field sized grass known as the Green Mile and a place where
even the opening pageantry is death defying. Queens with
fresh flowers woven along their hatbands and dignitaries jump
the racetrack rail and take hot laps on the track. Timed events
are tests of courage and stamina for both horses and riders
and the horses? By September, they’ve been on the road for
almost a year and are as fit as horses get. Even they leave the
arena winded with expressions of wide-eyed wonder.
In an arena that huge, bucking horses sometimes ‘get long’,
tempted by the wide-open spaces to go on tour instead of
tending to business. At Pendleton, their first jumps are on the
manicured dirt of the track but after that they hit the grass and
all thoughts of leaving vanish as they break in two bucking
on the natural surface. Landings are hard, pick up horses
need to be fast and fit and the watching of every event is
magnificent.
Pendleton Round-Up has earned the PRCA Large Outdoor
Rodeo of the Year on many occasions, all well deserved. If it’s
the first rodeo you’re planning to visit or you’re a veteran fan
or competitor, Pendleton is an exciting experience you’ll relive
with fondness for years to come.
At Pendleton Round-Up, it’s always time to just Let Er’ Buck.
Sterling Crawley and Calgary
Stampede’s Yesterday’s
Delivery scatter the infield
crowds during Pendleton
Round-Up 2017.
By Lori O’Harver
www.rodeofame.com
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