About: Ted

EAGLE, Colo. – Organizers of the Eagle County Fair and Rodeo are always looking for more ways to give back to the community. Enter the Saddle Up Program, which benefits non-profits in the Eagle area. Each year, non-profit groups apply to be part of the program, and one is selected. This year, people who are part of the Eagle River Youth Coalition will be able to enjoy a barbecue on Thursday, July 26, and will have tickets provided to them for either the Wednesday, July 25, or Thursday performances of the PRCA rodeo. “We saw this as an opportunity to achieve two goals,” said Michelle Stecher, executive director of the coalition. “One we expose local youth and families to the fair experience that they may not have had another opportunity to be part of that. “Our second main goal is to use this as an opportunity to bring together the people that use our services and those who support our services. It’s unique for us; we haven’t had very many opportunities to do that.” The organization’s purpose is making youth a community priority, and it does so by collaborating with Eagle River youth-serving organizations to assess prevention needs, coordinate substance abuse-reduction efforts and build capacity through strategic plans, programs and policies around the issues facing young people. Now those who are associated with the coalition will have that chance to take in all that is offered at the fair and rodeo, set for Wednesday, July 25-Saturday, July 28, at the Eagle County Fairgrounds. “The Saddle Up Program is a great way to get another group of people involved in the rodeo and to give an experience to people who might not otherwise be able to attend,” said Hanna Albertson, chairwoman of the fair and rodeo advisory council. Stecher said there are about 4,000 people impacted by the coalition. That’s a positive step for all in Eagle County. “We work a lot with other providers, anybody that is interacting with youth or supportive people involved in the community,” she said. “We invest really heavily in parent and family education. We work with prevention programs in the schools. We do a lot of work to increase the youth voice in the community.” Because of the Saddle Up Program, there is an opportunity to raise awareness about the coalition and also to help those associated with it know more about the community and the region’s legacy through the eyes of a fairgoer. “A lot of people we interact with know one or two things we do really well, but that’s it,” Stecher said. “This also lets them know what’s going on at the fair and rodeo. A lot of folks that live here don’t understand the heritage of the area. We’re really excited about raising awareness for that.”

DODGE CITY, Kan. – It takes a small village to produce something as magnificent as Dodge City Roundup Rodeo. With six days of world-class competition and a well-respected brand of entertainment, it takes many hands and many hearts to produce the biggest ProRodeo in Kansas. This year’s championship is set for 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 1-Sunday, Aug. 5, at Roundup Arena; that also includes the Xtreme Bulls, which takes place Tuesday, July 31. “Virtually everything that happens here is done by a volunteer in some capacity,” said Dr. R.C. Trotter, chairman of the committee that produces the annual event. “We have 200 volunteers work each performance. “But that doesn’t reflect all the work it takes leading up to those six days of competition. There is work to be done around the facility, preparing for concessions, planning and working with sponsors. One of the big reasons we’re successful is because we have a big pool of volunteers to make it happen.” And Roundup has a history of success. Nine times it has been selected as the Rodeo of the Year in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. In 2012, Roundup Rodeo was enshrined in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. In addition, Roundup utilizes local civic groups to assist in the process, then provides payments to those groups to help them with their ventures. “This is a whole community celebration,” said Joel Redman, Roundup’s vice president. “We are a non-profit, so any money we make goes right back to those organizations in various ways. We’re putting on our rodeo for the sport and for the good of the event, and that’s trying to make it the best for our community. “We’re always giving back to the community.” But it’s not without labor. During rodeo week alone, dozens of volunteers spend nearly every waking hour either at Roundup Arena or doing something on behalf of the rodeo. Each morning begins with the first round of timed-event competition. Oftentimes, that progresses into the heat of an August day in western Kansas. Then it’s time to return each evening to put on the kind of rodeo that entertains thousands of fans while producing a world-class event that features the very best that ProRodeo offers. “There are some very long days in there, and by the end of the week, we’re all hot and tired,” Trotter said. “But that’s also the reward, because we all love doing this, and we look forward to it every year. “We want to put on the best rodeo and offer everyone involved – the contestants, sponsors and fans – the best experience they can get.”

GUNNISON, Colo. – There is a rich heritage that surges all across the Gunnison Valley. For nearly 140 years, this has been home to families that raise livestock. It’s that type of legacy that has contributed to the annual Cattlemen’s Days celebration, set for Friday, June 6-Sunday, July 15, at the Fred Field Western Center in Gunnison. “We want to pay tribute to the local ranchers, those families that have been the foundation of Gunnison County for generations,” said Kevin Coblentz, president of the Cattlemen’s Days committee that produces the annual event. “We are taking a look back and returning to our roots. “We have such a strong history in ranching in this part of Colorado. We know we need to honor that.” Cattlemen’s Days is Colorado’s hidden gem, because it is real Americana. In days where video games have become more common than playing outside, the exposition offers a glimpse of the work and rewards that have come from ranching families. After all, there are many pieces to the Cattlemen’s Days puzzle that directly reflect on the ranching industry. “We’ve got the Watershed ranch rodeo, Watershed team ranch sorting and Watershed team roping and barrel racing that are a real reflection of life on a ranch,” Coblentz said. “You have the livestock shows and our FFA Junior Livestock Auction, which is always a big deal. “Of course, we’re very proud of the PRCA rodeo, where we’ll draw many of the top cowboys and cowgirls in the sport to our little town every year.” There’s a great deal of which Coblentz, the Cattlemen’s Days committee and the community can be proud. The exposition features 10 days full of activities and fun. “We have over a century of history with Cattlemen’s Days, but who we are dates back further than that,” he said. “Since the 1880s, ranching has been the life-blood of this community, and that continues to this day.” From the horse show opening the festivities on July 6 to the Cattlemen’s Days Open Jackpot Team Roping closing them on July 15, there are many activities in between. There are dances, concerts and the carnival to go along with every livestock show and rodeo performance. All that combined is the perfect celebration for this picturesque, ranching community.

Cattlemen’s Days to honor Gunnison Ranchland Conservation Legacy on July 14 during the final performance of this year’s PRCA Rodeo GUNNISON, Colo. – The lives of ranchers aren’t easy. Early mornings and late nights tending to living beings. Whether its haying season in the summer or cold, blustery days in the winter when the snow is two feet deep, the animals still need care. It’s a passion, really. It’s an understanding of what it takes to care for the animals and this land. The Gunnison Ranchland Conservation Legacy knows that. The non-profit organization acts on behalf of landowners in helping ranching families protect their lands with conservation easements. “We have protected more than 36,000 acres of ranchland in the upper Gunnison basin since 1995,” said Stacy McPhail, the GRCL’s executive director. “We want to keep ranching part of our community despite the pressures that come from development.” It’s vital to the Gunnison Valley. The community has a strong agricultural base, with ranching serving as its life-blood for many decades. The volunteers that organize the annual Cattlemen’s Days celebration will honor the Gunnison Ranchland Conservation Legacy during its final performance of this year’s PRCA rodeo, Saturday, July 14, at the Fred Field Western Center. “For all they have been doing over the past two decades for ranch families in the Gunnison Valley, we wanted to honor the Gunnison Ranchland Conservation Legacy,” said Kevin Coblentz, president of the Cattlemen’s Days committee. “Honoring them fits right in line with our Tough Enough to Wear Pink night on Thursday and our Patriot Night on Friday. “We want to raise awareness for things that are important to this community.” That is the case with the GRCL. The organization was founded in 1996 by Bill Trampe and Susan Lohr. Trampe is an area rancher, while Lohr is the former director of the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. Together they began looking for opportunities and services that a traditional land trust might offer to ranch families. With that, they realized the best way to protect local agriculture was to keep families on the land by raising funds necessary to purchase conservation easements. The organization helps landowners assess their needs and future plans, find an appropriate land trust, obtain funding to pay for conservation easements and complete legal and technical aspects of the transaction. The GRCL also promotes awareness about ranching, while also encouraging policies that support ranching in Gunnison through its outreach program, Gunnison Valley Ranching. “It helps keep the ranches here in the valley stable for future generations,” McPhail said. “We’re landowner advocates. We’re a really trusted source for landowners. Our board members are all part of the community. We help landowners get through the process and help find funding and resources. “It’s important to the community because everyone who lives here enjoys the landscape. Keeping the lands intact is what the community has strived for. We’ve watched other mountain towns change and grow. We want to control, as a community, the benefits and the resources that it gives us. It gives us a community of longstanding citizens.” Because of those roots, there is a strong correlation between the Gunnison Ranchland Conservation Legacy and Cattlemen’s Days. That’s why she and others associated with the organization are excited to be part of that final performance of the rodeo. “With something as traditional as Cattlemen’s Days, it’s recognizes ranching but also that there is a future in ranching,” she said. “Honoring the 140 years of ranch families is an important thing to recognize. The future looks a lot brighter in what we call as caring for the land so that agriculture stays in the valley for the future.”

Estes Park’s celebrated event wins its sixth Rodeo of the Year honor ESTES PARK, Colo. – When officials decided to make a change in the footing at the Granny May Arena inside the Estes Park Fairgrounds, they were just trying to make things better. It did, and the barrel racers in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association said so in 2017. Rooftop Rodeo was named the WPRA’s Medium Committee of the Year, thanks in large part to the money, time and heavy lifting by all involved to create the better footing for the arena. It will continue to serve the competitors at this year’s rodeo, set for 7 p.m. Thursday, July 5-Tuesday, July 10. “When a committee goes above and beyond for those cowboys, they deserve the awards,” said Taci Bettis, the reigning Rooftop Rodeo champion barrel racer from Round Top, Texas. “When you put in that much effort, that’s what you get.” Bettis hit the ProRodeo trail hard for the first time a season ago. It was her first visit to Estes Park, and she made the most of it. Not only did she win the championship, but her 17.36-second run set a new standard for the annual rodeo. “That was part of those weeks in July when I set everything off,” said Bettis, the 2017 WPRA Rookie of the Year and a top 5 barrel racer this season. “I’d never been at that arena before, so to go in and break the record was special.” Bettis was one of six Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifiers to place in barrel racing at last year’s Rooftop Rodeo. That’s a telling tale about why the WPRA ladies selected Estes Park’s rodeo as one of the best in the game. It was the sixth time in the event’s 92 years that it has been named Rodeo of the Year; it was a five-time winner in the Professional Rodeo Association. “We put in a lot of work into the arena between the 2016 and 2017 rodeos,” said Rob Hinkle, the community services director for the town of Estes Park. “The footing was just not good for the barrel racers, so we put $125,000 into new footing. “It’s already paid off, which was great to show off that improvement in one year. It meant a lot to the rodeo and to the town.” Besides the award, there have been other benefits. Hinkle said the arena has gained a few new horse shows because of the better footing. “Everybody’s taken great pride in it,” he said. “It was a lot of work. The members of the rodeo committee had to take out all the chutes and all the fencing, then put it all back in. “By getting awards like that, it provides a lot of energy in that committee to keep going forward.”