5th year for Ride for the Brand
The fifth annual Ride for the Brand Rodeo will gallop into the Norris-Penrose Center Saturday, July 7.
Starting at 6 p.m., the event is a sanctioned rodeo in the Working Ranch Cowboys Association (WRCA) tour. About 100 cowboys representing 25 ranches from around the country will compete in six events that replicate the work they regularly perform on the job. Waddie Mitchell, well-known cowboy poet and one of the creators of the WRCA, will once again be the “host on horseback.” The rodeo will be preceded at noon Friday, July 6 by the now-traditional Texas longhorn “cattle drive” through downtown Colorado Springs. “There have been a lot of cool things about number five,” said Scott O'Malley, whose company promotes the event. “People are wanting to help. We've got some great sponsors and friends who want to see this survive.” Ticket prices for the rodeo range from $5 to $25 and are available through TicketsWest or at the gate. The cost includes a post-rodeo performance by rock band Flash Cadillac. Competition will be in ranch bronc riding, wild-cow milking, trailer loading and double mugging. Events are timed and judged, with final scores tallied at the end of the rodeo. At the awards ceremony, the winning teams will be awarded Ride For The Brand silver buckles and cash prizes. Awards will also be given to Top Horse and Top Hand. Winning teams participate in the WRCA finals in Amarillo in November 2007. Proceeds from the WRCA help cover health costs for working cowboys. Related Ride for the Brand activities at Norris-Penrose during the daytime July 7 will be a ranch horse preview and sale and an art auction (both free to attend). Usually scheduled about two weeks before the annual Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo at Norris-Penrose, Ride for the Brand this year will go on less than a week before the professional event July 11-15. “We'll have to clean up quickly,” O'Malley said. For more information on Ride for the Brand, call Scott O'Malley and Associates at 635-7776. Westside Pioneer/press release |