Henry Rowen Takes a Tumble in First Night of Sheridan Rodeo

In a plot seemingly hatched up at Henry’s shindig the weekend before, the boys upped the ante for the crazy event in between the barrel racing and the bull riding. The team of Henry Rowen, Dustin Rowen, and Mark Jordan pitted themselves against the team of Corey DeMott, Will New, and Dale Brown in a game of Hangman. 

With Jordan and Brown operating a skid loader holding a tire swinging over the dirt, one person had to grab the tire from a moving horse. The horse had to go down and back, pick up the hangman from the tire, and then make another pass down and back. It looked like Henry and Dustin would emerge as the winners, only for Henry to take a tumble on the final stretch after Dustin had collected him from the swinging tire, allowing Corey DeMott, Will New, and Dale Brown to come away in the inaugural Sheridan Hangman Championship. 

Everybody breathed a sigh of relief after the suspense preceding the event. Seth the Clown, who had seen it all and who was keeping up a good chatter all night, was speechless for once, having no idea how to explain what was about to take place. 

Another new event was the baseball contest, rodeo style. A young man and a young lady were recruited by Seth to put on a pair of goggles, swing three times at a plastic baseball, weave through a set of orange flags, and then see how far they could kick a kickball. Seth declared the young lady, but the supporters of the young man will likely say the contest was rigged because the man kicked the ball clear to the press box while the young lady barely dribbled it with her kick. 

There were a lot of local favorites riding the barrels, such as EmiLee and Liz Brown, Heather Fenton of McFall, Lisa McCrary of Clyde, and Dayna Rowen of Sheridan. Liz Brown was third in the Friday night run with a time of 15.516.

The event that contestants had the most trouble with was the bulls, with all the contestants taking a tumble in three seconds or less. One possibility to break the jinx, North Nodaway grad Daytona Lutz, said he was going to give it a try Saturday. He’s traveled around the country riding bulls, riding a few here and there. The team roping was a close second, with several missing, a few catching only one heel, and one doing it cleanly but breaking the barrier.