Ritzville Rodeo, a bucking good time

RITZVILLE - The Ritzville Rodeo went off without a hitch recently. Hardworking cowboys and girls went home with wins and healthy purses.

The crowd said goodbye to the 2013 Rodeo Queen Haley Oestreich, and hello to 2014 Ritzville Rodeo Queen Heidi Hennings.

Hennings is a fast and precise horse rider, riding so close to the fence on her way around the rodeo arena, the crowd leaned back to avoid the flying dirt and hundreds of pounds of muscle she looked so comfortable on.

Announcer Bob Garrett explained there is more to being a rodeo queen than just looking pretty, and Queen Hennings has helped organize and host many events for the rodeo already, including the stick horse races for the youngest cowboys and girls at the fair.

"There's always a whole bunch of setbacks, but you just have to smile through them and get through them," she said.

During the intermission that crowd was entertained by the Skagit Rein Riders, an equestrian drill team. Garrett said it is very unnatural for horses to run toward each other, let alone at such great speed. The ladies each carried an American flag, some of which threw sparklers from the tops, and others let off purple smoke bombs during the maneuvers.

The cowgirls competed in barrel racing and breakaway.

With a time of 17.41 seconds, Katy Bremner came in first in barrel racing, Ashlie Stanley was second at 17.56, and Danna Stovner third at 17.62.

For breakaway Kayla Tiegs came in first with a time of 3.09 seconds, Lindsey Parkins second at 3.22 and Mary Ann Knapp at 3.42.

Cowboys competed in steer wrestling, team roping; bareback, bronc riding, and bull riding. Best times and style points are kept for bareback, bronc and bull riding.

In steer wresting Koty Kamm earned first place with a 6.28 second performance, Luke Simonin got second with 6.29, and JW Crenshaw third with 7.16.

Team roping winners were Brett Hale and Shane Crossley at 6.11 seconds, Kelsey Felton and Wade Jess second at 6.41, and Chris Hays and Will Schmidt at 6.97.

Felton was the only woman to compete in team roping. In bareback Orlun McFuffin won with a score of 76, Seth Shelton earned second with 71 and Denton Sandy was third with 63.

First place bronc rider was Jace Angus with a score of 72, Jacob Stacy second with 70 and Ryland DeRose third with 67. First place in bull riding was Cody Hudson with a score of 84, Caleb McMillan second with 78 and Bryan Carter third with 73.