This pocket watch – provided by Caffey Horse Co. and given to the Will Rogers Stampede all-around champion – is one of a few donations provided by local businesses each year. From the watch to a Benefield Saddlery breast collar to a set of Leon Hughes bits to headstalls provided by the Tulsa Stockyards, Claremore champions are rewarded handsomely.
(PHOTO PROVIDED BY CAFFEY HORSE CO.)

 

CLAREMORE, Okla. – A world champion’s gold buckle is the most cherished prize in rodeo, and for good reason.

It’s the trophy given to the contestants the top contestants in each event, the culmination of a year’s worth of excellence. At the Will Rogers Stampede, local businesspeople have stepped up to offer their own rewards for some of the top players over four days of competition in Claremore.

“Because these contestants take their time to come to our rodeo when we know other rodeos going on, we want to reward them for their efforts,” said Linda Caffey, who owns Caffey Horse Co. with her husband Keith. “We’ve always felt like the all-around champion should get an award or recognition for their accomplishment.”

The Caffeys, who have helped put on the rodeo for 38 years, gift the all-around champion with a pocket watch commemorating his victory.

“We wait and order it after the rodeo’s over, and it’s engraved with their name and the date,” she said.

It is one of four prizes passed out in Claremore. The steer roping champion earns a breast collar from Benefield Saddlery; the top breakaway roper gets headstalls from the Tulsa Stockyards; and the team roping titlists receive custom bits from local bit-maker Leon Hughes.

“I know about those guys, and I just like them,” said Hughes, who has been making bits most of his life, especially over the 27 years as something to do post-retirement. “I like visiting with them. They’re not pulling in a whole lot of money, so every little bit they can get will help.”

His specialized tack goes to the winners of the only team event, so he provides two to the rodeo each year. The Caffeys’ pocket watches are issued to the competitor who won the most money in multiple events.

“Roping is something every real cowboy has to do,” Linda Caffey said. “If they’re a real working cowboy, they have to know how to rope and do the pasture work. I watch the guys that have the ranch next to me, and they’re out there bulldogging and roping, so that’s what it takes.

“At the rodeo, it takes somebody that has a cowboy set of skills, a Western tradition of skills.”

Each business that donates items has a specific reason. Clark Benefield started several years ago, and his breast collars have been worn by some of the best steer ropers in the business.

“I enjoy watching the steer roping,” Benefield said. “It’s one of the first two events in rodeo, and you don’t get to see steer roping just everywhere. I went to Cheyenne (Wyoming) three years go to watch it up there for the first time ever, and I’ve seen it at Vinita and Claremore. I’ve been to Pawhuska to watch the Ben Johnson.”

These Will Rogers Stampede prizes are not only reminders of success in Rogers County, but they can also be used in a practical sense.

That makes them the perfect trophies for Claremore champions.