History
THE CROOKED RIVER ROUNDUP- A GOLDEN LOOK BACK
The corrals at Pringle Flat near Camp Creek, the ranches near Paulina, and the Post were the scenes of many early day roundups as the area's ranchers and cowhands pooled their efforts to gather their cattle and separate them before winter.
Between 1916 and 1926 an October roundup brought these local Cowboys together. Men who made their living out on the open range. Men like Billie Rae, Roy Gray, Roy Ritter, Lance Smith, Frank Houston, Sumner Houston, Jim McCoullough, Frank McCoullough, Lester Morgan, Frank Morgan, and many others were the first participants of the Rodeo in Prineville.
Horse racing can be traced in Prineville as far back as 1880. At that time a 1/2 mile track was laid out south of town near the present Stewart Dam. Carey Foster said that races were sometimes held directly down 3rd Street.
About 1900 a mile track was built where Crook County Middle School now stands, and in 1903 another track was built on the ground where the current Fairgrounds are located and a Fair association was formed. In 1915 the Fair sold half of the ground and the track was reduced to the current 1/2 mile oval. J.B. Shipp and Gardner Perry owned and operated the grounds until 1935 when Perry sold to M.D. Spreckles Jr. of San Francisco. In 1936 Harry Walters bought it and in 1940 he sold to Robert Lister of Paulina, who in turn sold the grounds to Warren Raymond. In 1945 when the Crooked River Roundup and Fair Association was formed they purchased the ground from Mr. Raymond.
During the war years there had not been any Rodeo's and in 1944 with $320, a lot of energy and ambition, a group of local ranchers decided that Prineville needed a top notch Rodeo. Jess Cain lent them $1000 and Max Barber was contracted to provide stock. Two weeks before the show he sold his stock. Luck was with the local group as another contractor, Pat Fisk was available and he provided the stock for the rodeo for the sum of $1500. Lew Lynn, a local auctioneer was the clown. Lance Smith took charge of repairing and remodeling, Cain Hall was remodeled and when the Rodeo was over it had been a financial success and $850 was the profit.
After such a grand show the founders decided to make it a yearly event and to sell 120 shares of stock at $100. Jess Cain sold all of the shares in 6 weeks. Since they needed a permanent site for the Roundup, they purchased the present grounds from the Raymond's for $11,000 cash. On September 2 and 3, 1945 the First Crooked River Roundup and 4-H Club Fair was held.
Orville Yancey was elected Chairman and Jess Cain as Treasurer. For 8 years Jess Cain served as Treasurer and General Manager of the Crooked River Roundup. At the age of 83 he was the honored guest of the 13th Crooked River Roundup. He is still referred to as the "Father of the Roundup", as he had been instrumental in establishing the professional rodeo in Prineville. Jerry Breese was a member of the original board of directors.
Christiansen Bros of Eugene Oregon provided the stock for the show and ran the performance. A Parade was held down town each day of the rodeo at 10 am. The first queen of the Roundup was Fay Phillips. The American Legion raised the US Flag as they have at each of the Roundup Rodeo performances for many years to come. The Rim Rock Riders presented a five minute drill each day. The girls from the High School Pep Club served as ushers. A Bridle Horse contest, Cow Cutting, and 4-H Club Fair were held during the two days.
The purse for the Roundup in 1947 was $3,000. In 1993 it had grown to $5,000, and for the 1995 "Golden Anniversary" the purse was $8250. The purse for the track races was close to $36,000. In 2003 the rodeo purse was $2500 per event, $5000 in TR, plus $2000 in the Steer Roping, for a total of $22,000 and the race meet purse will be close to $71,000.
1946 saw the fairgrounds get a major face-lift. New bucking chutes, new fences and a new foundation for the grandstand. A city block was dedicated for the 4-H Club Fair and 30 stalls were built for stock. All of the buildings were repainted white with green roofs. A sawdust arena, was built for showing the stock. In 1948 the lights were installed, and the school district began holding night football games in the arena. The Rodeo board sent a vote of thanks to the local Lion's Club for their help in making night rodeo and football possible. In 1948 the board issued an additional 100 shares of Roundup stock, with the proceeds to go for improvements to the grounds.
The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs became a major part of the Roundup. They would set up a Tepee village during the Roundup. They stayed in the tents, rode in the parade and grand entries. Notes from the history of the Roundup show that the Indian group was paid $50 and the Roundup would sponsor two Indian pony races. They would need to bring 20 Tepees and at least 15 must perform in the parade and grand entry. When times became lean in the early 1960's, this was an expense that the board felt they could no longer afford.
In 1949 it was decided that down town merchants were to decorate the streets and the Roundup would purchase flags for future use. All businesses were to close during the rodeo. A Buckaroo breakfast was served on Sunday morning by the local VFW, this was taken over by the Prineville Ridge Riders and continued through the 90's. It started back up in 2000 and is now cooked by the Roundup Board for those willing to stay real late after the races – like 2am late.
In 1946 the queen contest was changed to 60% horsemanship and 40% ticket sales. Betty Terwilleger (Betty Jo Rhoden) was chosen queen. The Roundup was 2 days at this time. A Bridle horse contest was held before the Rodeo. Many locals showed off the outstanding horsemanship and horses of the area in this event. Christensen Brothers furnished the stock and Mel Lambert was the announcer.
In 1948 the Roundup went to 3 Rodeo performances. All day Friday was the 4H club fair. Saturday morning the parade was held downtown, cow horse and bridle horse contests were held at 11 am and the Rodeo performance was in the afternoon. The Sunday show saw a repeat of the Saturday schedule without the parade.
1950 saw the addition of steer roping. The cowboy roped the steer around the horns and the trip was applied. The steer would fall to the ground and the cowboy would dismount and tie 3 feet in similar fashion to the calf roping. Steer roping was discontinued in 1960 and was replaced by team roping. Steer roping was reintroduced as an event at the Roundup in 1990 and is part of the show today.
During the history of the Roundup there have been many local events. Local pony races, Indian pony races, kids calf scrambles, saddle horse races, local mounted drill teams, pony express races, chariot races, wild cow milking, mad scramble, local team roping, and the wild horse race.
In 1954 it was decided after much deliberation that the fair and the rodeo should split. Fred Grimes replaced Jess Cain as manager. The County Fair board and the Roundup signed a 50 year lease for the 4-H corner of the "Roundup Grounds". At the same time, the Roundup and the School Board entered into an agreement for use of the grounds for football games. During the late 50's and early 60's attendance at the Rodeo was down. Cash flow became a real problem. The split from the fair-rodeo combination had hurt.
Ronnie Raymond made his debut as a saddle bronc rider at the Roundup in 1956. He drew "War Paint", one of the greatest bucking horses ever and the one featured on the logo of the Roundup with Manuel Enos on board. Manuel had ridden War Paint earlier in 1956 at the rodeo in Redmond and won the event there. The picture that is used as a logo was taken in 1957 here in Prineville.
Slim Pickens was clown here before he became such a movie great. He dressed as a spanish bull fighter and called himself "Juan-El-Spit-On-The-Floor-El-Cuspidor. When his movie career took off and he could no longer return for the Roundup, he said jokingly that the reason was he couldn't compete with the local clowns.
In 1958 we had a Roundup and Western Pow-Wow. Kiwanis took over the Rodeo programs. Queen was Gayle Austin and for the first time our queen was eligible for the Miss Rodeo Oregon contest.
In 1959 the Roundup became part of the Golden Triangle. It was composed of Eugene, Klamath Falls, and Prineville. The purse paid $500 to the best "All Around Cowboy" of the 3 rodeos. In 1961 the Golden Triangle finals where held in Prineville. There was a dispute over who won the trophy and it stayed here in Prineville for a long time. This dispute also caused the breakup of the "Golden Triangle" group.
The Board of Directors would spend weeks working before the rodeo. Much was in need of repair each year as the elements had taken their toll during the winter and spring. Fences needed fixing, watering the grounds, cleaning out the horse barns, washing down the grandstands, and the now nearly 20 year old buildings were in constant need of paint. This ensured the Roundup of one constant that would remain a part of the organization for the next 10 years, there was not enough money to go around. The suggestion was made to borrow $1000 and cut the show to 2 days. Service clubs that ran the concessions were asked to give a percentage of their profits to the Roundup. In 1962 as money problems continued, the Friday night performance of the Rodeo was eliminated. This reduced the expense, while the ticket sales for the remaining performances increased.
In 1964 Roscoe Hopper had full charge of ticket sales. Roscoe held this job for 6 years. He set up shop in the Bowman Museum. This downtown ticket outlet along with the work Roscoe did helped to stabilize ticket sales and in turn stabilize the cash flow of the Roundup. Also in 1964, Quarter horse racing was added to the Rodeo performance. Hugh Rockwood furnished an electric starting gate to start the races. This racing was a prelude of what was to come in the future.
1966 was a big year for the Roundup. Horse Racing- The Sport of Kings made its official debut to the Roundup. Pari-mutuel wagering was offered. Tickets were sold through windows cut into the back of the Grandstand.
In 1968 the Rodeo made another bold move. This was the first "official" Roundup Rodeo without Christiansen Brothers furnishing the stock. Ronnie Raymond and the Double R Rodeo Co. took over. With the change was another change. Ronnie felt that if the Board of Directors would move the Rodeo from the first week in August to the Second weekend in July the Roundup would be able to draw contestants who would be in the area for some large 4th of July shows. It worked, entries into the rodeo increased. Ronnie brought in some excellent stock, and the 1968 show was of excellent quality.
Ronnie Raymond was one heck of a cowboy, and a darn good promoter. He furnished stock for the Roundup until 1977 when he quit the contracting business to pursue other interests. Ronnie remained a supporter of the local shows, both the Roundup and the Paulina Rodeo until his untimely death in 1994. During the 1970's the Board worked hard. Racing improved and was no longer a financial burden to the Rodeo. Grounds were in constant need of improvement.
1972 saw the Roundup make a bold move. At this time laws were being changed in Salem to force non-profit organizations to pay property taxes on the property they owned. What was facing the board was certain bankruptcy unless something was done. The cash reserves were nil. The idea came up to deed the Roundup grounds over the Crook County at no cost. In return the Roundup would get five years of free rent and the Community would get the grounds to develop and operate on a year round basis. Crook County also had access to Federal and State grants and revenue sharing programs to help update the facilities. This could never have taken place if the Roundup had not deeded the ground over to the County. It was a smart move, and frankly, the only viable choice the Roundup Directors and Stockholders had at the time.
In 1978, Joe Kelsey of Tonasket, Washington was selected as the stock contractor for the Roundup. Joe brought in a group of great bucking stock. One of the notables was a bull by the name "Red One". This bull was selected as the top bucking bull of the country one year. Joe and Sonny Kelsey again brought a little higher level of professionalism to the show. It continued to rebound from the dark days of the early 60's.
1979 saw an extraordinary set of circumstances take place. The county had acquired a grant to build a first class indoor arena on the grounds. This would allow for more indoor events and full, year round use of the fairgrounds. The original plan was only to build an indoor arena. While the design process was taking place, problems were found with the existing wooden grandstand. A big decision was made by the county, the old grandstand was to be torn down. The indoor arena project would be scaled back, and the money saved would be used to build the new metal grandstand. In early 1979, the old grandstand was torn down. Design of the new grandstands were done as quickly and as cost effective as possible. Work began in early Spring, and progress at a frantic pace. Crook County, the Fair board and the Roundup worked together to build a new Jockey's Room, Paddock, and Pari-mutuel building. Food booths needed to be moved to fit in the new layout. The grandstand was repositioned in comparison to the racetrack, so about half of the racetrack had to be rebuilt. Lighting needed to be redone on the racetrack. Much was to be done, and not a lot of time remained until the show.
Snoden DeBoard was President of the Roundup that year. Many directors and volunteers worked every night and every weekend for what seemed an eternity to try and get the facility in shape. They were doing well, but the show was getting close.
Meetings were held weekly to oversee the progress and plan direction for the next week. At one such meeting, barely a month before the show a motion was brought before the board to cancel the 1979 Roundup. Before the vote was taken on the motion, Snoden and the gang left the meeting and went back to work with preparations for the show. On Saturday, 2 weeks prior to the Roundup, a work party was held with a request to the community for help. About 50 people showed up and the work began. The day was rainy and cold, but the volunteers kept working all day. That Saturday the outside fence on the racetrack was completed, the box seats were put back into the grandstand, the Pari-mutuel Room was completed, the track lighting was redone and the rodeo arena fencing was redone to a point that the Rodeo could be held. After that one Saturday with a group of volunteers we realized that there was nothing that this community could not accomplish if we put our heads down and made it happen.
After the rebuilding, there were still some problems left with the facility. With the new grandstand the bucking chutes now were too far away from the grandstands. The corrals that held stock for the show were in poor shape and needed to be relocated behind the bucking chutes. Again the Roundup made a big commitment and began to tear down the old bleachers and the existing corrals. The board and many other volunteers began to rebuild the east side facility. With the help from the High School and Ochoco Lumber Company selling lumber for the seats and the corrals at a special price, we had new corrals and portable bleachers for the facility at a fraction of the cost.
In 1986 the Board of Directors was expanded to 17 members. There was a concentrated effort to try and bring the Roundup "downtown" for the people of Prineville. The Saturday before the show, the Roundup blocked off main street between North 1st and North 3rd streets and set up an old time town complete with blacksmith's shop, jail, and of course a saloon. This day was topped off by the "Dusty Chaps" gang holding up the bank. (The old Bank of Crook County, now the Bowman Museum)
In 1989 the Roundup purchased 40 portable stalls which were located at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds and moved them to Prineville. This made it possible to stall all of the race horses in actual stalls and it also helped to make the Fairgounds the "Horse Capitol" of Central Oregon, as Prineville now had the only facility with stalls for large horse events.
1991 was also a major year for renovations and work at the Fairgrounds. Through connections with other race tracks in Oregon, the Roundup was able to have donated enough lights to relight the race track.. The box seats were also re-built through hard work and donations.
In 1992 the Roundup and the Prineville Fire Department worked to solve a communications problem during the race meet. The Fire Department also had a need for more portable radio's the rest of the year. To solve this problem, the Roundup donated $2000 to the Prineville Fire Department for the purchase of portable radio's and the Fire Department would then make them available to the Roundup for use during the Races and Rodeo each year. The Fire Department had the use of them for the rest of the year.
In 1993 the paddock was rebuilt. Crown Pacific Sawmill donated the lumber and the Roundup furnished the labor. 1993 was special to the Roundup as they retired the old Roundup Flag to the "Cowboys Then and Now Museum in Portland. The Flag still proudly hangs, reminding all who see it of the unique history of the event.
Pride was running high in 1993 and 1994 as both years the "Miss Rodeo Oregon" was a former member of the Roundup Court. Michelle Holliday was the 1993 Miss Rodeo Oregon, and Kitty Sharp was the holder of the title in 1994.
The 1994 Roundup was excellent in many ways, but it also was a rather sobering experience in others. Improvements in the equipment used to work the track made for excellent Horse Racing. Changes in the Rodeo made for an excellent show, with the new announcer Zoop Dove adding much to the show. On Wednesday night, shortly before the show was to begin, tragedy struck in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Nine members of the Prineville Hot Shot crew lost their lives and the 1994 Roundup would be dedicated to them and to the community that mourned the loss. Each and every person who attended the Roundup, Parade or Races was touched in some way by the tragic loss. Many dignitaries attended the annual Parade, including the Governor's of Oregon and Colorado. Now and forever, the loss of these young people will be what is remembered the most of the 1994 Roundup.
1995 the Golden Anniversary and will be remembered for much more. Many changes are in store for the Roundup. A new sound contractor provided a state of the art computerized scoreboard for the show. The sound will be greatly improved with a professional sound technician on duty during every event. Zoop Dove returned as the Rodeo announcer, along with Growney Brother's Rodeo Livestock.
1995 saw the first rain in many years, with a regular downpour during the Sunday rodeo performance. The races had been held under threatening skies all week long. This weather problem, coupled with the failure of a dance after the races each night put the Roundup into a slight cash pinch.
1995 saw Governor Kitzhauber veto HB3411 which provided much needed financial support to the small race meets. While many were disappointed with this veto, a second avenue, HB5035 provided some additional funding and many feel it will lay the ground work for the resurgence of horse racing, not just here in Prineville, but across the entire state.
1996 was a hot year for the Roundup, and we mean like over 100 degree's. The show started the week on an up note, with the first 3 nights of racing being up in attendance, handle, and program sales, but then came the "Bull Bash Bust of 1996". While Roundup organizers were putting on Rodeo in 100 degree heat, a Bull Bash was being held on Saturday evening in Redmond, directly pulling against both our Rodeo and Race. With the hot days, ticket sales at the Rodeo took a drop, while attendance and handle were down for the Saturday night races. The final results showed that the Bull Bash suffered as much as the Roundup and the WarPaint Gang survived to ride again. Races in 1996 were ran at a bottom purse of $1250 and a top of $3000 for the Woodward Memorial. While we will not look back at the races as a huge success, it will be noted that 1996 was the start of the turn around in horse racing.
1997 was another year of trying to get the legislature to a pass a bill mitigating the results of the lottery on horse racing. Again, the race industry was able to convince the legislature to pass a bill that would help the industry recover from the effects of the lottery, but again, Governor Kitzhauber did his veto trick on it, after saying that he would support it. Later on, he did offer to support E-Board action that eventually provided $60,000 in funding for the races in 1998 and in 1999.
Today the Roundup is moving forward in leaps and bounds. In the last few years the entire rodeo grounds have been rebuilt and the purses for the rodeo are climbing steadily. The event is still based on thousands of man hours and support from the communtiy. We thank every one of them from the bottom of our hearts.
