Rodeo Tickets Go on Sale at 11 City Locations

Tickets for the Aug. 18-20 101 Ranch Rodeo are now (July 22) on sale at 11 locations across the city, according to David Inselman of the Rodeo Foundation.

Advance tickets for the rodeo are $3 and tickets sold at the gate during the rodeo will be $3.50, Inselman said.

Special admission prices are being offered for Thursday night of the rodeo, which is Family Night. Family Night tickets are $2 for adults and $1 for children.

Tickets are available at the Chamber of Commerce office, Highway 60 Cowboy Supply, Dillon's, Gene's Western Wear, Humpty Dumpty, M & W, Miller's Market on South Fourth, Safeway, Bestyet, Leonard's and the Fashion Mill, Inselman said.

Tickets also will be available July 27 and 28 at the Continental Oil Company Lobby entrance.

Pie-Eating Contest Starts Off Rodeo Week

Many of the events planned for Rodeo Week, Aug. 14-20, have been finalized according to David Inselman, Rodeo Foundation promotions chairman.

On Monday of Rodeo Week, a pie-eating contest and a western theme window painting contest are slated.

Tuesday's events are a mock shoot-out and a greased pole climbing contest A hot dog eating contest is scheduled for Wednesday.

On Thursday, the opening date of the 101 Ranch Rodeo, another mock shoot-out will be held and square dancing is also slated.

A terrapin derby highlights Friday's activities, along with a barbecue which is free to all who have bought Friday night rodeo tickets.

Several events are to be held on Saturday, including a cow-chip throwing contest. The winner could be Ponca City's representative to the national tournament at Beaver.

Also scheduled for Saturday of Rodeo Week is a mock shootout, a horseshoe tournament, the annual Rodeo Parade and an after-rodeo dance.

Inselman said other events may be idded to those already slated. The events are sponsored by city groups and businesses.

Pre-Show Contests For Kids Due At Thursday Night Rodeo

The India Shriners and their Palomino horses will attend the Saturday parade and the 101 Ranch Rodeo's Saturday night performance only, Aug. 20.

President John Heinze made this announcement at the meeting of the 101 Ranch Rodeo Foundation Tuesday night. It had previously been announced that the Shriners would perform both Friday and Saturday evenings of the rodeo, but conflicts have arisen to make the change necessary, Heinze said.

Also discussed was the pre-show event for children on Family Night at the rodeo, Thursday, Aug. 18.

Planned events include sack races, three-legged races and egg toss contests. These are being coordinated by Robert E. Ford, assistant superintendent of schools, Heinze said.

Any boy or girl 12 years of age or younger is eligible to participate in the contests and may register with the purchase of a Thursday night rodeo ticket. They may register at the Chamber of Commerce office starting Monday.

Any child participating in the Thursday night pre-show activities will receive a free straw hat at the time he or she registers for the contest and will wear the hat while participating.

Friday night's rodeo performance will be preceded by a barbecue and those who purchases Friday night rodeo tickets will be admitted to the barbecue at no additional cost.

Mike Sokoll's 4-H Club trick ropers are slated to perform at the Saturday, night show and the Ponca Trailblazers will make a grand entry before the performance.

Rodeo arena repairs were discussed during Tuesday night's meeting. Heinze said more foundation members are needed to participate in the fix-up procedures.

Also discussed was the planned cow-chip throwing contest. Dave Inselman reported the contest idea has been well received and the foundation is trying to get Governor David Boren and other notables to attend.

Lois Scott gave a report on the queen contest and said only three presons had completed their applications and turned them in thus far.

Any single female age 14-21 interested in entering the contest may do so by contacting the Chamber of Commerce.

Those attending the foundation meeting were Heinze, Inselman, Lois Scott Chris Shufelberger, Mike Sokoll, Harry Braden, Guy Clark and Carl Balcer.

Ropers Hope To Throw Winning Loop At Rodeo

Give those boots a good shine and dig out that ten-gallon hat, the 101 Ranch Rodeo is about to begin.

Final preparations are now under way for Ponca City's annual rodeo, Au-gust 18-20,, at the 101 Ranch Rodeo grounds.

For cowboys like Merle Davis and Henry Hainzinger, both who live east of town, rodeo preparation is a year-long affair.


Each evening ropes sail toward their target of a headed bale of hay or a frisky calf as the two calf-ropers stay in shape, and dream of a winning time at the next rodeo.

Both Poncans have about the same reason for the routine. "I like to try to win some money." Hainzinger said.

"If you don't win, you don't go so much," Davis explained, "but if you can make a good run you've got money in your pocket," he added with a grin. "About four to eight seconds (getting the calf down and tied) will generally place in the money," Davis said.

Some say the excitement — the crowds and the challenge of a rodeo — become addicting. "If he doesn't go to one in a while he gets in a sorta bad mood," Mrs. Hainzinger quipped about her husband.

For both men, rodeoing has become a family sport — wives drive the cars (when needed), sons ride and rope, with some of the gals racing around the barrels while others cheer on the: whole bunch.

The 101 Ranch Rodeo ranks right up there with the rest, according to both ropers. "The competition .is just as tough as at Cheyenne," Hainzinger said.

"It (the 101 rodeo) compares right up with the medium sized rodeos," as Davis puts it.

Tough competition and good rodeo stock draw the cowboys to the 101 Ranch Rodeo. To bring home a trophy in calf roping, Davis or Hainzinger will probably have to top times by some of the best ropers in the business who annually enter the 101 Ranch Rodeo. As for the stock, Alsbaugh's is considered among the best.

So give those boots one final buffing, dust off that hat, and get ready to head out to the rodeo!

Rodeo Week Proclaimed By Mayor

Mayor John R. Robinson has proclaimed the week of Aug. 15-20 as 101 Ranch Rodeo Week in celebration of the activities slated for the week, including the 101 Ranch Rodeo, Aug. 18-20.

Robinson, in his proclamation, urged  "all citizens to take part in the activities and events to celebrate the historical heritage of our community and the state of Oklahoma."

Along with the proclamation, the mayor released a slate of activities for the week. Many of the events will be taking place in the downtown business district.

The Rodeo Week events slated are:

Monday — Pie eating contest, Western window painting contest.

Tuesday — Greased pole climbing con-test, high noon shootout.

Wednesday — Hot dog eating contest, free horse and wagon rides.

Thursday — High noon shootout, square dance, 101 Ranch Rodeo.

Friday — World famous terrapin derby, free barbecue with Friday Night rodeo ticket, 101 Ranch Rodeo.

Saturday — Cow chip throw, horse-shoe tournament, high noon shootout, downtown rodeo parade, 101 Ranch Rodeo, western dance.

First Performance Of 101 Rodeo On Tap For Tonight

The 101 Ranch Rodeo opens tonight for its annual three-day run, and plenty
of excitement is in store for those in attendance.

Bull riding, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding and barrel racing are some of the events scheduled to take place beginning at 8 p.m. at the rodeo grounds, located on west Prospect.

Dozens of cowboys and cowgirls, have arrived from several states for the event, according to Bruce Renken, spokesman for the Ponca City Chamber of Commerce.

Five buffalo have been brought in for the opening stampede, Renken said.

"Some members of the Rodeo Foundation will attempt to ride these buffalo tonight," Renken commented.

"It has been rumored that we will be challenged by an as yet unnamed all-star team, but I am confident that in that event we will win," Renken said.

Tickets are on sale for $2 for adults or $1 for children at the Chamber of Com-merce office or at the gate.

Terrapin, Chip-Chucking Contests Part Of Rodeo

Some unusual contests will be taking place in conjunction with the 101 Ranch Rodeo, scheduled to start tonight at 8 p.m. at the rodeo grounds.

A terrapin race, sponsored by radio station KLOR, will be held around 12 noon Friday at Third and Grand, according to Stan Bivin, a spokesman for the station.

A $2 entry fee will be charged to con-testants, which will be used for prize money, Bivin said.

First prize will be 25 per cent of the total entry fee money, of $50, whichever is greater. Second place will be 5 per cent of the fee, and third will net 12 percent.

Cash prizes will be awarded back to tenth place, Bivin said.

Registration begins at 10:30 a.m. Friday. The turtles must be land variety but may be of any size, according to Bivin.

Bivin went on to say that anyone wishing to sell a turtle to KLOR for the race may do so. "There's been a shortage of turtles due to the dry weather, so we'd appreciate anyone who wants to sell a turtle to us for the race to come down," Bivin said.

If enough entries show up, a qualifying race will be run at around 11:30 a.m., with the final race being held at noon, according to Bivin.

The terrapin race is modeled after the famous 101 Ranch races, started in 1924 by Col. Joe Miller, Bivin said.

A cow chip chucking contest, sponsored by the Noon Lion's Club, will take place between Third and Fourth on Grand at 11 a.m. Saturday, according to DeRoy Skinner, Sr., chairman of the event.

Mayor John Robinson will throw the first chip. Other mayors, including Bruce Robinson, Tonkawa, John J. Smith, Newkirk, Joe B. Alien, Pawhuska, and Max Rogers, Blackwell, have been invited to participate in the event as well, Skinner said.

Prizes will be awarded for the longest and shortest throws, for the longest women's throw and the longest childrens throw, according to Skinner.

The Lion's Club got the idea for the contest from the well-known cow-chip chucking event in Beaver, Okla., Skinner said.

"I understand there's a real lively interest in the contest there," he said.

For further information contact Skinner at 765-3351 or 765-6129.

Horseshoe pitchers can catch some action at 8 a.m. Saturday at Dan Moran Park, when the North Central Oklahoma Pitchers Association will hold their first annual tournament, according to Homer Cain, president of the Oklahoma Horseshoe Pitchers Association.

There will be a $5 entry fee, along with a $5 membership fee for those wishing to participate who do not be-long to the association, Cain said.

Around 75 people from Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri have signed up so far for the event, according to Cain.

Trophies will be divided into classes on ringer percentage, with three trophies per class, Cain said.

In conjunction with the rodeo, an exhibition match by state champions Charley Brewer and Janet Warlod, both from Yukon, will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the rodeo grounds, Cain said.

101 Rodeo Gets Off To Enthusiastic Start

The 101 Ranch Rodeo got under way Thursday night with a vengeance, with over 50 cowboys and cowgirls giving the small but enthusiastic crowd a cavalcade of thrills.

The estimated 4,000 rodeo fans sat through a short rainy spell towards the beginning of the program to watch some of the best cowpokes in the world try their hand at everything from calf roping to bull riding.

A buffalo stampede by Rodeo Foundation members John Heinze, Leon Nelson, Bruce Renken, Dave Inselman, and Max Berry led off the events of the evening. Heinze was able to stay atop his buffalo the longest and was thus declared the winner of the comical event.

Oklahoma's own Bob Logue led the way in the bareback riding competition posting a score of 73. Richard Andrews and Paul Mayo are tied for second in the event with 69.

Another Oklahoman, Paul Duncan, Lindsay, who holds the calf roping record at the Calgary Stampede at 9.3 seconds, nearly tied that record Thursday night when he posted a 9.5 time to take the lead in the calf roping competition.

Steve Bland is in second place with a time of 10.2 seconds.

Bobby Berger, Norman, rode a horse named PJ for the full 10 seconds to post a score of 69 and take the lead in saddle bronc competition. New Mexico's Mark Sanchez is second with a 67.

Only three successful tries were completed in the steer wrestling competition, and one of those was penalized for breaking the rope too early.

Colin Howell, Pawnee, posted an excellent time of 7.1 seconds to take the lead in the contest. Gary Zilverberg was second with an 11,4 time.

One of the many no-time victims of the event was former world champion Tom Pin-year, who's steer got away from him when he attempted to bulldog it.

Kansan Collette Graves and Oklahoman Phyllis Jones ended up in a tie, for first place in the barrel! racing competition, both posting an 18-second run. Ponca Citian Kimberly Mardis sits in third place with a 19-second run.

Charlie McCrary, Stillwater, garnered 71 points to lead the bull riding competition. Monty Taylor is second with a 68.

Texan Ken Henry gave the crowd thrill when he dismounted from his bull named "Milk Cow," when the anima got too close to the fence. Henry went up over the fence head first but landed unhurt.

The crowd got another dose of unplanned entertainment when a scared and somewhat confused rabbit ran into the rodeo arena, halting competition temporarily.

The rabbit ran the length of the arena, finally ducking under a chute Later, during the steer wrestling contest, the rabbit's burrow was found in front of the horse chute and had to be covered up for the safety of the riders.

Tonight's Rodeo, Barbecue Still On

Rain will not halt tonight's performance of the 101 Ranch Rodeo's or the pre-performance barbecue, according, to Bruce Renken, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce.

The barbecue will begin at 6:30 p.m. in case of rain, tents will be set up, he said. The rodeo performance begins at 8 p.m.

This morning's downpour did cancel one Rodeo Week activity, however The World Famous terrapin Derby, slated for noon today, was rained out.

Deluge Stops, Rodeo Ends With Style
As the saying goes, the third time's the charm.

The rains that placed the first two nights of the 101 Ranch Rodeo were nowhere in sight Saturday night, the only remnants being the mud in the parking. area and some standing water in the cattle pens.

The change in the weather showed itself the most in crowd attendance, as nearly 5,500 people came out to watch the final performance.

Mark Sanchez, Bluefield, N .M., . walked off with the Sonny Shultz Memorial Trophy for best allaround cowboy. Sanchez finished second in the saddle bronc competition, but did not place in his second event, bull riding.

Rick Parsons, Tulsa, was top money winner for the rodeo, taking home $693.84 for his first place finish in the calf-roping event. Paul Duncan, Lindsey, who was only a tenth of a second off of Parsons' winning 9.4 second time, finished second. Texan Fred Garrett was third.

Stillwater's Charlie McCrary and Sandy Kirby, Greenville, Tex., each won $545.37 of the nearly $7,900 purse in their first place tie in the bull riding competition. Both finished with a score of 71 points. Houston's Bo Ashron finished with a 69. Monty Taylor was third.

Bobby Berger, Norman, took the saddle bronc competition with his Friday night score of 69. Berger netted $493.92 for his efforts. Second place was a tie between Sanchez and Billy Briggs, Tucson, Ariz., each with a score of 67.
Rick Whorton was third. .

Oklahoman Bob Logue held on to first .with his Thursday night score of 73 to win the bareback riding contest, making him $505.68 richer. Richard Andrews and Paul Mayo, who were, ironically, the next two riders after Logue in  Thursday night's competition, finished second and third, respectively.

World Champion Rick Bradley continued to dominate the steer wrestling competition, adding a second-round and overall victory to his first round win.

Bradley won a total of $342.34 for both his second round and overall wins.
Bradley won the second round of competition with a 7.1 second time, to give him an amazing 1.3.2 second overall time.

Nathan Haley, Hanna, Okla., was second overall with a 19.7 second time, and Corky Parker, Altus, finished behind Bradley with a 9.9 second run in second round competition to give him third overall.

California's Art Alspaugh finished third in the second-run with a time of 10.5 seconds.

Bradley was not the only one to dominate his event.. Phyllis Jones, Wayne, Okla., walked off with both second round and overall wins in the barrel racing competition.

The wins netted Jones a total of $211.68. Collette Graves, with whom Jones was tied for first place honors in first round competition, did not compete in the second round.

Jones finished with overall time of 35.2 seconds followed closely by second place finisher Jill Jacobs, Alva, Okla., with 36.1 seconds and third place finisher Jackie Joe Perrin, Antlers, Okla., with 37.2 seconds.