About: Ted

Coronavirus pandemic forces Pioneer Days to move to August EDITOR’S NOTE: The times and actual dates may change. GUYMON, Okla. – The champions won’t be playing in May. For years, the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo has utilized the tag line, “Where Champions Come to Play the First Weekend in May.” With the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic shaking its nasty head around the region, the country and the world, the volunteer committee has opted to move this year’s festivities to the fourth weekend in August – the month has five weekends in it this year. “This decision is what’s necessary, but it was also forced on us with the state’s closure to non-essential business through the end of April,” said Mitch Egger, chairman of the rodeo committee. “Our rodeo was set to begin Monday, April 27, and we had slack competition scheduled right up until our first performance on May 1. “Because of the state order, it’s just not possible for us to go ahead with our rodeo under that time frame. Instead of canceling the rodeo altogether, we opted to move it to a date that worked well for virtually everyone involved.” The first day of competition for the 2020 Pioneer Days Rodeo will begin Monday, Aug. 17, and will continue for seven days. The paid performances are set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug 22; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23, at Henry C. Hitch Pioneer Arena. Organizers of the other events associated with Pioneer Days – Mercantile, Rotary Barbecue, parade, carnival, etc. – will be making decisions about their events concerning the pandemic as well. Pioneer Days has been a staple in the Oklahoma Panhandle for 88 years. It was established in the 1930s as a way for the community to get together during the “Dust Bowl” years that infiltrated much of the Plains at the time. Leaders selected the anniversary of the Organic Act, which, on May 1, 1890, made No Man’s Land part of the Oklahoma Territory. That’s why contestants and rodeo fans alike have grown accustomed to having Guymon’s rodeo the first weekend in May annually. The rodeo has always been the cornerstone event around the community celebration. “We would love to have our rodeo the first weekend in May like we always do, but this is out of our hands,” Egger said. “We are in an unprecedented situation with the coronavirus, and we have to consider this community in everything we do. “Like our fathers did decades ago, we decided we wanted to continue to have a community celebration. This year it’s going to be in August, and we’ll have another reason to celebrate: We’ll enjoy time together after several weeks of self-isolation and be thankful for all that we have.”

Even during COVID-19 quarantine, Utah cowboy finds a silver lining SPANISH FORK, Utah – The last time Mason Clements strapped himself onto a bucking horse, he won the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo’s bareback-riding title and $23,500. That was more than a month ago, and he’s been itching to get back to the work of rodeo ever since. Alas, the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has stopped any chances of that for the time being, so he’s enjoying the opportunities the break from the rodeo trail have provided him. “It’s nice to have this time to clean up some stuff you have at the house, but it also sucks,” said Clements, a two-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Spanish Fork. “We’re quarantined from a lot of people and rodeo. Not having the comradery we have in rodeo is a shock. Not being on the road is just a weird feeling. It’s just not normal. “I’m healthy, and I’ve already competed this year, then everything just stops.” That’s the nature of this pandemic. Schools have closed, events have halted, including sports all across this land. With ESPN airing “sports” like juggling dodgeball, social distancing has taken a whole new approach to athletic entertainment. While professional baseball players and basketball players are guaranteed salaries without playing games, it’s not the same in rodeo. The only way cowboys earn money is by winning it, beating most of the field on any given day or at any given rodeo. So, what is Clements up to during this national quarantine? “I try to go hunting as much as possible and working at the family business, Ready Mix Co.,” he said. “It’s hard to not be competing, but it’s also a really productive time. You don’t get a whole lot of time to strengthen yourself, stay super healthy and get things done at home. It’s an opportunity to get things done, and it also keeps the fire burning inside you. “You’re itching to get back on. You’re riding your spur board. It’s a good time to get that fire burning to ride again.” That’s the nature of a competitor, a person whose heart and soul is involved in the game he loves, in the passion for the fight between man and a bucking beast. It’s a love that has grown over time for the 27-year-old cowboy, who dangled his feet in rodeo as a youngster. Clements began chute-dogging, the precursor for steer wrestling where young contestants grapple steers to the ground right out of the chute. He started wrestling steers from horseback as a sophomore in high school, about the same time he started riding bulls. He qualified for the Utah High School Rodeo Association’s finals in both events in each of his final two seasons. “I rode bulls until I was 20, then I found bareback horses,” he said. “I was in a down area of my bull riding career; I was in a slump, and I was at a ProRodeo in Prescott (Arizona) and watched the bareback riding for some reason, and it really caught my eye that night.” Things changed dramatically after that. After a 12-hour drive to eastern Utah to try his hand at the game, he decided to make the switch. “I got bucked off both the horses I got on, but I remember thinking, ‘I can do that,’ ” Clements said. “That just kicked it off right there … the love of the fight to stay on. I immediately had a love and passion for it, and I didn’t even make the whistle. I craved it already.” He attended the College of Southern Idaho and began traveling the pro circuit with his coach, Cody DeMers, an NFR veteran. He learned a great deal in those early years on the backs of bucking horses and on the roadways between rodeos, and it began paying off. In 2016, he finished 18th in the world standings, just three spots out of qualifying for his first NFR, which features only the 15 best in the game in each event. He made the finale in both 2017 and ’18, finishing among the top 10 in both seasons. But that final season, he was riding in pain and had knee surgery after the NFR. He missed the early part of the 2019 season, then flourished to the finish. He finished 16th in the world standings, just one spot out of playing for the biggest pay in the game in Las Vegas. That served as a major motivating factor for Clements as he prepared for the 2020 season. In addition to winning San Antonio, he also won the title in Denver and pocketed some cash in Fort Worth. He sits fourth in the world standings with a little more than $36,000 in earnings, but his season is on hiatus, as is everyone else’s as they await the stop of the spread of the coronavirus. “I just use little tricks to stay sharp and stay focused in that bummer moment of not making it to the NFR last year and watching everyone else compete,” he said. “Through these experiences, you’ve just got more tricks in your bag. “It’s good to get back on my feet, be riding good and be strong. It’s nice to be making money again after a long, dry winter. When you don’t go to the finals, you’re not making any money.” Like most, Clements is unsure of what the future days and weeks will mean. He’s happy to be productive and get some things done with the family business and around his place in Spanish Fork. He’s recently engaged and planning a wedding next year, so he and his fiancé, Brianna, have plenty of irons in the fire. But there’s another inferno ablaze, and it’s deep inside his gut. “I’m excited to get the season going again,” Clements said. “It feels like the end of December and the beginning of January: I’m chomping at the bit again.”

GUYMON, Okla. – At rodeos all across this land, Andy Stewart’s voice has resonated across the grandstands and into the back pens to tell the tales of the sport. Along with local personality Ken Stonecipher, Stewart has been a mainstay at the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo, which will have four performances this year set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 1; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 2; and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 3, at Henry C. Hitch Pioneer Arena. Over the years, Stewart has been recognized as one of the very best in the business. He’s gained accolades and prestige, and this past December, his voice cascaded across Las Vegas as one of three announcers of the National Finals Rodeo. “That meant everything to me,” said Stewart, an 11-time nominee for the PRCA’s Announcer of the Year. “To earn that goal of being able to get behind the microphone at the pinnacle of our sport is very humbling. “It was everything I had hoped for. It was magical that first night I got to be on the microphone.” The magic exists because he is a student of the game. He knows the cowboys, the animals, the events. He understands that some fans in Gunnison, Colorado, may be more tourists, while many of those at Pioneer Days Rodeo have more knowledge about the game. His words and his actions reflect that. “One of the reasons Andy is so good and highly acclaimed in rodeo is because of his energy,” said Mitch Egger, chairman of the volunteer committee that produces the annual rodeo. “He’s been part of our rodeo for so long, he just feels like family. There are many people that don’t remember Pioneer Days Rodeo without Andy Stewart involved. “The fact that we got to hear him at the National Finals is a big deal. Only three announcers are asked to be part of the NFR each year, and out of the hundreds of announcers that make a living in rodeo, he was recognized as one of the very best. He added to the NFR experience, and everybody there got to see why we know we have a gem in the Oklahoma Panhandle every May.” Stewart knows what it takes to work at an elite level. He works many of the biggest rodeos in the country, including the legendary Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days Rodeo. One reason is because of his energetic, booming voice. Another is the extra work he puts ahead of each rodeo performance so that he can be the perfect voice of the fans. For every hour he’s on the microphone, Stewart spends many more going through biographies and background and looking over all the important statistics of each competitor in the show. He understands what it takes to compete at an elite level, and he wants fans to realize it, too. It is, after all, the perfect mix of world-class competition and true family-friendly entertainment. “I’m big on atmosphere,” Stewart said. “There are certain arenas that just have an atmosphere, and Hitch Arena is one of them. It’s part of the fabric of people’s lives in Guymon. It’s so familiar that it feels like home. That’s one thing that makes Guymon special and different than so many rodeos I work. “Another thing I appreciate about Guymon is that it’s not a very big community, but they continue to bring a world-class rodeo to town. It’s pretty special to me that a town that small can put on a rodeo of that caliber.” Indeed, it does and has for decades. It has returned to the PRCA’s tour system after being one of the original tour rodeos two decades ago. In 2015, Pioneer Days Rodeo was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and is the only Oklahoma-based rodeo enshrined in that museum. Each May, nearly 1,000 competitors find their way to the region once known as “No Man’s Land” to participate in one of the more popular events in ProRodeo. “There is so much tradition at Hitch Arena,” Stewart said. “People go there and expect quality, and that rodeo committee delivers quality every year. I don’t think the integrity of the rodeo changed in any way over the years and over the changes in stock contractors. It continues to be a highlight event in ProRodeo and in Guymon, Oklahoma.”

ALVA, Okla. – As the threat of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic continues to strengthen, the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association last week decided to cancel the remaining events on the 2019-20 regional season. For Northwestern Oklahoma State University and the other colleges in the Central Plains Region season, that means the March 13-15 event in Fort Scott, Kansas, was the last event for this campaign, thereby eliminating the final four events in the circuit. “At this point, it means we’re done for the season,” said Stockton Graves, coach of the Northwestern men’s and women’s teams. “The last thing I’d heard was that the CNFR was still a go but it’s pending.” The College National Finals Rodeo is scheduled for June 14-20 in Casper, Wyoming, and features the best three contestants in each event – and top two teams – from each region. Typically, each region season will consist of 10 intercollegiate rodeos; the Central Plains Region ends with just six. “We would have loved to have had the last four rodeos,” Graves said. “I feel like we would have had more qualify for the college finals, but that’s just the way it is. We’re going to do our due diligence to flatten the curve the best we can. The quicker we can do that, the quicker this thing gets under control.” The virus continues to spread. Over the last week, confirmed cases in Oklahoma have increased from 17 to 53, and that trend likely will continue; at least, that’s been the situation nationwide. Because the coronavirus is a global pandemic, the best way to attack it from a general standpoint is to adhere to “social distancing.” “It’s pretty disappointing that we’re not able to finish the college season, and it’s extremely disappointing that we don’t get to go to those final four rodeos,” said Bridger Anderson, a Northwestern junior and the reigning college champion steer wrestler. “With everything that’s going on right now, it’s probably the right decision.” Anderson is one of the more fortunate ones. He is the No. 1 man in the region’s bulldogging standings, so he’s a lock to return to the CNFR and defend his championship. He’ll be joined by just one other Ranger, fellow steer wrestler Colt Madison of Whiting, Iowa, who sits third. “Fortunately, I came out unscathed, but I wasn’t looking to catch a break,” Anderson said. “I wasn’t looking to win on six out of 10 rodeos; that’s not a good way to win. Winning shouldn’t come easy. It should be a fair fight to win. “I was fortunate to have quite a few points, but anything was possible in college rodeo, and there were guys that could have caught me. By stopping the season now, that will leave a few contenders out of the mix, including reigning breakaway roping national champion Taylor Munsell of Arnett, Oklahoma. Now a graduate assistant coach with a fifth year of eligibility, Munsell had hoped to defend her title in June. “She’s out of the mix,” Graves said, noting that Munsell finished the shortened season fifth in the region. “She fully understands that and understand it’s just part of rodeo.” Also out of the mix are Rangers headers Zane Thompson of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Jaden Trimble of Coffeyville, Kansas; Thompson sits fourth in the region and Trimble fifth. College rodeo is just one of many sports that have been put on hold. The NCAA canceled its postseason tournaments in the winter sports, then canceled all spring sports altogether. None of the major professional associations are competing as of now, and those that return are waiting on word as to when that is to happen. Professional rodeo is in the same boat, and that also has an effect on Anderson, who sits 10th in the steer wrestling world standings. For now, though, he’s going to look toward the positives and see how things line up in the weeks and months ahead. “Hopefully, at this point, we’ll still be able to go to the college finals, but that’s still up in the air,” he said. “All I can do is sit back and watch and do what I can to keep myself and my family safe, doing what we can do to help out this pandemic.”

Pioneer Days is in limbo; committee continues to monitor coronavirus GUYMON, Okla. – The new normal isn’t quite normal to most, but the safeguards that have been put in place were developed to help control the spread of the coronavirus. Still, that leaves several community events in limbo, including the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo, set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 1; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 2; and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 3, at Henry C. Hitch Pioneer Arena. “The reality we are facing is that this thing is global,” said Mitch Egger, chairman of the volunteer committee that produces the annual rodeo. “We’ve decided to take a serious, common-sense approach to what we are going to do with Pioneer Days Rodeo, and we think that’s the best avenue at this point. “Instead of making a knee-jerk reaction or a panicked decision, we have decided to allow time to lead us. We are keeping an eye on the situation and how it affects Oklahoma, this region and this community. We understand the need for social distancing at this point, and we support that. But what’s it going to be like a month from now, much less a month and a half from now when the rodeo is scheduled?” The COVID-19 virus is a worldwide pandemic, and as of Tuesday, 17 cases of the coronavirus have been reported in Oklahoma, none of which have been identified in the three counties in the Oklahoma Panhandle. No cases have been reported western Kansas, and none have been reported in all of the Texas Panhandle. “What those figures tell us is that we need to be diligent in our approach to this pandemic and to make sure we do right by the people that would be part of our rodeo, whether it’s the cowboys, the fans, the sponsors or our volunteers,” said Ken Stonecipher, a longtime member of the Pioneer Days Rodeo committee. “With that, though, we realize the importance of continuing a very strong community event if possible. That’s why we are in a holding pattern right now. “The last thing we need to do is make a rash decision that could impact this community.” The committee’s directors will continue to monitor the coronavirus situation over the coming weeks and expect to make a more educated decision on April 9. Even then, the directors said, plans can be altered for everyone’s well-being if the need arises. “We’re in an unprecedented situation,” Egger said. “We’re really not sure what the next step is, but I think we can all agree that doing something now that we may regret later would be a bad idea. Let’s give this thing some time and see what happens in the weeks ahead. “Yes, we have things we’d like to get done, and we have sponsors and others in this community that have invested in Pioneer Days Rodeo 2020, but we must proceed with caution and make the best decisions we can based on the information we have at the time.”