First Night of Allendale Rodeo

The Allendale Rodeo returned Friday and Saturday after a one year hiatus. The arena was filled up and there were plenty of attractions. The line was full at the Allendale CBC food booth, Max Garrett brought his ice cream machine, and there were plenty of other attractions. There was a Durango Steer that kids could sit on; despite his huge size and long horns, he was as gentle as a lamb. 

Lefty the Clown was the new clown for the rodeo; he kept everybody entertained with his jokes. One joke involved GPS technology, which he said was really Goat Path System; it took you to places where there wasn’t even electricity. When Zoey Tunks of King City got a spectacular 2.7 on the breakaway roping after nearly everyone else whiffed, he said that with one throw of a rope, they doubled their catches. 

Later, Lefty brought out his magic clip, and brought out a helper, who introduced herself as April, but who looked like Alyssa (Miller) Ridge. Lefty kept saying the wrong magic words, pulled a dead chicken out of his hat instead of a rabbit, and finally blew up the box that he was supposed to bring some tied ropes out of, revealing boxes of Tide, Cheer, and All Laundry Detergent. The stick horse races attracted 65 kids, and they had to run two heats, which challenges news reports that the Worth County census dropped below 2,000 for the 2020 census. Another good group participated in the boot scramble. 

A new attraction this year was the Outhouse Races, a scheme cooked up at Henry’s Place. Tyson Troutwine and Cash Jacobs were first and Henry and Dustin Rowen were second as all three occupants of the outhouse were dragged around hard. Nobody was injured. 

Two local favorites tried their hand in the events. Brylea Paxson tried her hand in the barrel races and got 17 seconds. The best competitors got below 15 seconds, with Abbey Wilson getting just over 14 to win. Chance Jacobs tried his hand at bull riding, but was flipped off his animal right off the bat. Nobody could ride the bulls and few could catch the calves in the breakaway roping, but the team roping, one of the events that contestants usually have the most trouble with, saw a lot of teams get qualified scores. One team did it in six seconds, while on another, the woman did her job but the man did not, and broke the barrier in addition.