Roping in a crowd
Staff writer
The second year of a resurrected ranch rodeo in Burdick drew a mixed crowd to the town Monday.
This year’s rodeo brought not only fans but also three dogs and a goat. The dogs were Australian cattle dogs, one of them a pup.
The pup tried to get in on the fun. He slipped through bars of a gate and walked onto the arena turf, attentively eyeing cattle in a pen on the other side of the arena.
Heedless of the fact the dog was merely trying to do his job, his owner called him back to the spectator side.
The rodeo brought 17 three-member teams of cowboys and cowgirls to compete in branding, steer mugging, and trailer loading.
The youngest competitor was 11 years old.
Cowboys and cowgirls on horses chased cattle.
Lassos flew through the air, and spectators cheered.
In the first round, cowboys brought the cattle to the ground and held them down while a team member ran to a bin of branding irons to “brand” the cows.
In the second round, cattle were lassoed by the head and legs and brought to the ground.
One cowboy drew cheers and admiring remarks when he ran over and tackled a cow from the side, knocking it straight down and landing on top of it as if it were a football game.
The rodeo was part of a daylong Labor Day celebration in Burdick. Other events included vendors, a World War II display, children’s activities, a parade, and a pedal power competition.
Rodeos at Burdick used to be famous, but years went by without one until the tradition was revived last year.
During Burdick rodeo’s heyday, famous cowboy Bill Pickett performed there. His first rodeo was in 1888. In 1905, he joined the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show. He pioneered bulldogging, now known as steer wrestling.
He was inducted in 1971 into the Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and in 1989 to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.