Last Stand Rodeo kicks off Friday in Coulee City

COULEE CITY - Coulee City will host its Last Stand Rodeo this weekend, officially kicking off the PRCA's Columbia River Circuit series.

Events begin at 7 p.m. Friday with the Last Stand Bull-A-Rama at the Ted Rice Arena.

At 7 a.m. Saturday, the Cowboy Breakfast will be held at the Brick House (the old junior high school) followed by the Cow Pie Jog- a 3.7 mile race beginning at 8 a.m. Participants can register for the run by calling 509-681-2004.

The WBRA/WPRA Barrel Race for Breast Cancer, organized by breast cancer survivor Maria Pearson, will be held at 10:30 a.m. at the rodeo grounds. There will be about 100 entries and several sponsors have provided the purse money and nine champion buckles.

At 11 a.m., the Last Stand Main Street Parade begins in downtown Coulee City. Coulee City's 2014 Rodeo Queen Tami Deines will be among the parade's participants.

Deines, a Soap Lake native, earned the title last fall and was officially crowned on New Year's Eve.

Saturday's events end with the Last Stand Rodeo at 7 p.m. at the Ted Rice Arena.

Things pick back up at 8 a.m. Sunday with slack (typically a pre-event for those who compete in timed events), before the final performance of the Last Stand Rodeo at 2 p.m. Deines will be barrel racing that morning - her first time in a pro-rodeo event.

"I'm excited, I grew up doing rodeo and have done junior rodeo before," she said. "But this is my first chance at pro rodeo."

Deines said she is also excited because she gets to participate in the rodeo as both a contestant and a queen.

"I think it's awesome, there is no other way to promote rodeo than actually competing in the sport you're representing," she said. "I'm looking forward to this weekend, it should be the best weekend of my year."

Deines is currently studying exercise science at Central Washington University. She said she enjoys traveling on weekends to various rodeos because she loves promoting rodeo.

"I want to share my love of rodeo with others, and especially get the younger generations involved to keep the sport alive," Deines said.

For more information on rodeo events, visit www.laststandrodeo.com.