1975

RODEO DATES: August 21st, 22nd, & 23rd

RCA OKAYS RODEO AUGUST 21 - 23

Buetler Will Be Stock Contractor; LeGrand To Clown

Dates have been set and contracts signed for the 16th annual 101 Ranch Rodeo.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday, August 21, 22 and 23, are the dates approved by the Rodeo Cowboys Association during the annual convention in Denver last month.

One restriction was placed on the rodeo this year — permits in bull riding will not be accepted.

At the recent meeting of the Rodeo Foundation of the Ponca City Chamber of Commerce, the board of directors voted not to accept permits for bull riding in the future. The two events for which permits will be accepted are saddle bronc and bareback riding.

Jiggs Beutler of El Reno will return as stock contractor for 1975. He has produced a number of excellent rodeo in the 101 Ranch arena and always attracts many of the top cowboys of the nation.

Buck LeGrand, a favorite clown of both bull riders and spectators, and a clown new to the 101 arena, Tom Sheffield will be the bullfighters.

A spectacular trick riding group, the Arena Kachinas, will provide the entertainment between rodeo events.

A new voice will be at the microphone this year. It is that of Hadley Barrett.

Guy Clark has been re-elected as president of the Rodeo Foundation. Fred Balduff resigned as vice president and John Heinze was elected. Bruce Renken will continue as secretary treasurer.

Committees appointed by Clark are Jim Cox and Max Berry, the rodeo dance; Bill Carter, concessions and Berry, arena grounds.

Mrs. Neita Rogers, who has been in charge of the queen contest for about ten years, has resigned from the Foundation.

Rodeo Office Opening Monday At Chamber of Commerce; Tickets Go On Sale

Rain or shine, in the mud or the the dust, there is going to be Rodeo in Ponca City Thursday, Friday and Saturday Aug. 21, 22, and 23.

Tickets for the 16th annual 101 Ranch Rodeo go on sale in some of the supermarkets Monday, the day the rodeo office opens in the Chamber of Commerce offices, 112 North Third.

As for the past several years, Thursday night will be family bargain night. Admission is only $2 for adults and $1 for boys and girls under 12 years of age.

Box seats will be reserved the first night, with the grandstand seats on a first-come, first-served basis. Those who come early to assure getting the seats they desire will be entertained by the 101 Ranch Rodeo band under the direction of Bill Anderson.

Friday and Saturday nights all seats will be reserved. Grandstands seats will be $3 if purchased in advance at one of the cooperating supermarkets and $3.50 at the gate.

Tickets purchased at the supermarkets must be turned in at the rodeo ticket office for a reserved seat.

Already requests for entry blanks for the queen contest are being received by Mrs. Lois Scott, chairman. The Ponca City Business and Professional Women's Club has charge of planning activities for the young women and furnishing hostesses for each girl.

That some of the top cowboys in the nation will be out in the arena is assured.

First, the cowboys athletes like the great stock provided by Jiggs Beutler, as they score better.

Second, the 101 Ranch Rodeo is more than halfway through the rodeo season which ends November 1. Each cowboy will will be trying to up his money wins by attending as many rodeos as possible and be eligible for competition in the National Finals Rodeo at Oklahoma City the first part of December.

Rodeo Fever Starting To Mount

Think  rodeo— think western—go western, for it is that time of year again!

The 101 Ranch Rodeo for 1975 opens at 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, with the colorful grand entry and the dramatic posting of the colors.

Opening night is family night with tickets only $1 for children under 12 and $2 for adults. Grandstand seats will not be reserved, but the rodeo band, under the direction of Bill Anderson, will entertain those who come early to assure themselves of their favorite seats.

Early arrivals can watch the stock producer and the cowboys working in the chutes, getting everything ready for the moment the first bronc bucks out into the arena.

A cowboy must be athletic to stay atop a high-jumping, hard-hitting horse, or a spinning, churning bull. But the horses and bulls must also be strong and healthy for the cowboys to fully display their abilities.

A horse or bull that is too fat or in poor condition can't buck well. That's why stock contractors are willing to pay premium prices for such animals, and then see to it that they stay in top condition.

The accidental death and injury rate for rodeo animals is far below that for farm and ranch animals, according to recent survey conducted by the Rodeo Information Foundation.

Most of the bucking horses are "spoiled" ranch, pleasure or pack animals, like Descent, a 15-year-old Palomino who was voted Bucking Horse of the Year for a fifth season in 1971.

And the bulls, usually cross-breds, enjoy a noble life in rodeo, reprieved from the meat packing plants.

Miss Rodeo America To Be Ponca City Visitor During Annual Show Next Week
Queen of the rodeo queens, lovely and charming Connie Della Lucia of Ogden Utah, Miss Rodeo America, is coming to Ponca City for the 101 Ranch Rodeo.

She will not just be another spectator. She is coming to boost the rodeo which opens Thursday, Aug. 21, barely over a week away. Connie will arrive in Ponca City Wednesday and has offered to speak to groups who would like to know more more about rodeo and the activities which will surround the queens.

It is a thrill to receive the title of Miss Rodeo America, Connie said, and that thrill is continuing.

"I am having experiences and going places that otherwise I would probably never have," she continued.

She is urging all young horsewomen to enter the 101 Ranch Rodeo queen con-test as it is both fun and a rewarding experience, regardless of whether a girl wins anything or not.

"Some advice I would give to girls who are competing for rodeo queen would be to be prepared to work hard.

"To win a title takes many, many hours of practice, hard work and thought. You have to be willing to give.

"The winner must remember that the work is just beginning."

She concludes, "Have fun in your contests. Everyone can't win, but if they have an enjoyable time, none will be a loser."

When she finishes her reign, Connie wants to stay with some part of the western world, either in fashion designing or doing some kind of public relations work for rodeo.

If she continues her education, she plans to attend a college or university with a good rodeo program and major in fashion merchandising or physical education.

Queen contestants at the 101 Ranch Rodeo will be judged 50 percent on horsemanship, 25 percent on poise and personality and 25 percent on appearance.

Each young woman will have her personal hostess, said Mrs. Lois Scott, of the Ponca City Business and Professional Women's Club, chairman of the queen contest.

To be eligible for entry, the young horsewoman must be between 15 and 21, never have been married and have a sponsor. The one selling the most tickets will receive a trophy buckle, but sales do not count toward the queenship unless there is a tie.

Entry blanks may be secured from the Ponca City Chamber of Commerce office, 112 North Third.

Rodeo Expects Over 300 Cowboys
Stock is in—welcome flags flying—and rodeo is only 2 nights away.

If the pattern of past years is followed, there will be more than 300 cowboys trying to pocket some of the more than 13,000 in prize money.

There will be a new announcer for the 16th annual 101 Ranch Rodeo opening Thursday. He is Hadley Barrett of North Platte, Neb., who has competed in all of the standard rodeo events and entered the entertainment field when he was only 18 years old with his own western band.

Barrett has knowledge of rodeo which, together with his gift of the successful entertainer, makes him one of rodeo's most popular announcers.

Also new to the 101 Ranch arena will be Tommy Sheffield of Rankin, Tex., clown and bullfighter. Though only in the profession 7 years, Tommy already has made a name for himself in his style of working close to the 1,500-pound Brahmas.

Sharing the dangers of clowning will be Ponca City's favorite. Buck LeGrand.

Sheffield has just published the only book of its kind in the world: "Best Supporting Actors—Rodeo Clowns."

Not new to the 101 Ranch Rodeo arena, but returning after an absence of several years, are the Arena Kachinas, a fantastic trick riding presentation by 3 beautiful and talented girl's on horses going at lightning speed.

Each evening the 101 Ranch Rodeo band—all volunteer musicians—under the direction of Bill Anderson, director of music for the Ponca City schools, will begin playing at 7:15.

Early arrivals will not find it tiresome waiting for the 8 p. m. grand entry.  Thursday is family night, with grandstand seats on a first-come, first-served basis as none will be reserved, only the box seats. It is also bargain night with adult tickets only $2 and boys and girls under 12, $1.

Saturday night there will be two special events during the rodeo and one following it.

The 1975 queen of the 101 Ranch Rodeo will be announced and begin her reign.

The all-around cowboy of the 1975 rodeo will be determined and presented the annual Guy Shultz Memorial Trophy, given by Mrs. Shultz each year to the cowboy who wins the most money in two or more events.

As in past years, the activities and festivities for the 101 Ranch Rodeo will be concluded with the annual rodeo dance. The Wandering Oakies, which have proved popular at previous dances, will again be providing the music.

The group will feature a new recording star — Bobby Lee Russell of Tulsa—who also is a successful song writer.

First Performance of 101 Ranch Rodeo Due Tonight

Tonight we rodeo!.......There's excitement in the air as beautiful queen contestants, cowboys (210 are entered) and glamorous trick riders come to Ponca City.

The rodeo band begins to play at 7:15 and at 8 o'clock sharp Hadley Barrett, the announcer, will open the first performance of the 101 Ranch Rodeo for 1975 at the arena on West Prospect.

As riders in the colorful grand entry weave their way through the arena, bareback broncs will be run into the chutes, ready for cowboys to get down on them and give that slight, tense nod which says to Jiggs Beutler, stock producer and arena director, "I'm ready—open the gates!"

Offering good stock, the rodeo has drawn many of the the top cowboys in the nation.

They include Tom Ferguson of Miami, reigning all around cowboy who last year won more than $90,000 in calf roping and steer wrestling.

Others among the top 15 all around cowboys as of Monday who called in their entries are Don Gay, Larry Mahan, Sandy Kirby, Bobby Berger, Barry Burk and Monty Henson.

Some of the top 1-event contenders entered include Sammie Groves of Ponca City, second in saddle bronc; Marvin Shoulders, Randy Magers and Butch Kirby, bull riders; Junior Garrison and Ernie Taylor, calf ropers, and Tommy Puryear and Roy Duvall, steer wrestlers.

Specialty act for this year is the exciting Arena Kachinas as they perform breath-taking feats on fast-running horses.

All in all, the 101 Ranch Rodeo for 1975 promises to be 1 of the most outstanding since RCA rodeo came to Ponca City.

Cowboys Thrill Large Crowd, 2 Nights Left

One of the largest first-night crowds to attend the 101 Ranch rodeo enthusiastically showed its appreciation of the action in the arena Thursday, whether it was one of the standard rodeo events, the clowns or the daring Arena Kachinas.

The rodeo will begin at 8 o'clock tonight with more of the top professional cowboy athletes putting their highly- developed skill against the rugged stock of Eira Beutler and Son.

On Saturday night Miss Kathy Kaufman of Derby will turn over her crown to one of the 10 young women in competition for the queen's title.

Also on Saturday evening the all around cowboy of the 101 Ranch Rodeo will be awarded the Guy Shultz Memorial Trophy, given each year by Mrs. Schultz to the contestant winning the most money in 2 or more events.

Only 2 cowboys stayed aboard the bulls until the buzzer sounded Thursday night, Tommy Hardeman scoring 70 and Roddy Coquat a 69.

The event was marred by Dennis Shireman being kicked in the head before the clowns could distract the bull after it had thrown him. He was taken by Fire Department ambulance to St. Joseph Medical Center, where he was treated, held a short time for observation and released.

Jimmy Dix, who comes from Australia, posted the best score in bareback bronc, with a 74. The young cowboy began his career as a jockey in Perth, Western Australia. In 1974 he was fifth in the national standings.

Jack Ward, who was fourth in national standings in 1974, placed second with a 71.

One of the hottest races in professional rodeo at this time as the sport begins to wind down to the cut-off date, November 1, is in calf roping. Best time Thursday night was turned in by Willard Moody, who roped his calf in 10.9 seconds, beating out such performers as Tom Ferguson, reign all around, Gary Johnson. Junior Garrison and Ernie Taylor, who in 1973 set a record for money won in roping—more than $40,000.

Saddle bronc was close with the best score,64, posted by John Gass, first go out in the event. Roger Bartell; Ted Gleason tied for second with 62 and Wayne Hall was fourth with a 61.

Stan Christian threw his steer in seconds flat. In 4 runs the steers outwitted the cowboys, who received no time.

Cowgirls Friday and Saturday nights will have to beat the time set by Janice Saunders Thursday evening. The girls were expert riders, with no barrels turned over.

Many more of the top cowboys of nation will be competing tonight c Saturday, and each event will be me more exciting and interesting by Hadley Barrett, announcer, who has competed in each of the rodeo events and has the flair of the entertainer, having had his own western band when he was only 18 years old.

The rodeo band composed of senior high school students and members the music staff of the Ponca City schools, under the direction of Bill Anderson, will begin playing at 7:15 each evening. They are worth coming early to hear.

For the first time in the history of the 101 Ranch Rodeo the colors were presented by the color guard from the Naval Junior ROTC of the high school The NJROTC is the only one in Oklahoma and has been named the outstanding unit in the Eighth Naval District.

There was excellent rodeo Thursday evening and tonight and Saturday, promise to be just as good—or better possible.

Disclaimer - The information found on these pages is only meant to be a concise chronological collection of happenings as they relate to each year's 101 Ranch Rodeo and not a complete or total recreation of each year's events and/or happenings. If you have additional information pertaining to the 101 Ranch Rodeo and would like to share it with us and others that visit this website, please feel free to submit your information to us and we will be glad to review it and consider adding it to these pages.