The Cowboy Capital of the World hosted over 8,000 fans at the rodeo grounds this past weekend. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) came to town for the 68th annual Oakdale Rodeo, staged at the Oakdale Saddle Club Rodeo Grounds on Saturday and Sunday, April 13 and 14. Fans from around the country – and a few from other countries as well – packed the stands and talent from around the globe entertained rodeo goers in the two-day event.
All-Around Cowboy honors went to Doyle Hoskins of Chualar, California. Hoskins earned $586 in tie-down roping and team roping.
On the microphone was the familiar voice of Jody Carper, who has been an announcer in PRCA since 2005. In the arena was Oakdale’s own Rick Moffatt, who served as one of two brave bullfighters during the competition, along with Josh Daries of Salinas, who is a five-time California Circuit Pro Rodeo Association Bullfighter of the year. Providing laughter to everyone in the arena was Ronald Burton, pro rodeo clown and barrel man. Burton has been in the sport for over 15 years.
Rodeo fans welcomed back specialty act John Payne as the “One Armed Bandit” to the Oakdale Rodeo. Payne is a 15-time PRCA Specialty Act of the Year. Fans showed their appreciation for Payne with a standing ovation and loud cheers as he brought out a pair of wild mustangs and a zebra from Africa for his act.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said rodeo fan Heather Brickman.
Competitive events over the weekend were bull riding, bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, barrel racing, tie-down roping, team roping and steer wrestling.
Devan Reilly rode Four Star Rodeo’s Black Ice for an 85.5 point ride and took first in bareback riding. Reilly earned a total purse of $2,346. Austin Floss placed second with an 85.0 ride and took home $1,799. Trenten Montero placed third scoring an 83.0 and brought home $1,330.
In steer wrestling round one Hunter Cure took first place at 3.9 seconds and was awarded $1,324. Cure also took first in average of 8.4 on two head of steer. Stetson Jorgensen placed second at 4.1 seconds and brought home $1,096. Dakota Eldridge and Matt Reeves tied for third at 4.4 seconds and brought home $753 each. In the second round it was Russal Armenta at 3.6 seconds, winning $1,324. Second place went to Juan Alcazar Jr. with a time of 4.1, good for $1,096. Third place and $867 went to Edgar Machado at 4.4 seconds.
Team roping first round Spencer Mitchell and Cody Doescher placed first at 6.3 seconds and won $1,986 each. Luke Brown and Jade Corkill placed second at 6.5 seconds and won $1,644. The duo placed first in average as well with 13.5 seconds on two head and won $2,979 each for the feat. Cody Snow and Hunter Koch placed third at 6.7 seconds and were awarded $1,301. In the second round Dale Benevides and Monty Joe Petska tied with Luke Brown and Jade Corkill for first place at 7.0 seconds. Each team was awarded $1,815. Third place went to Tate Kirchenschlager and Cesar de la Cruz at 7.1 seconds, earning $959.
Jesse Wright rode C5 Rodeo’s Bad Intentions for a first place finish in the saddle bronc riding. Wright held on for eight seconds and scored 88 points and left $2,279 richer. Mitch Pollock and CoBurn Bradshaw each scored an 84 and tied for second taking home $1,519 each.
First round of tie-down roping went to Riley Pruitt at 8.4 seconds and he took first place, earning $1,028. Westyn Hughes placed second on the day and won $851 with a time of 8.8 seconds. Hughes tied for first in round two with Taylor Santos at 9.3 seconds and brought home an additional $939. Hughes’s big weekend wrapped up with winning the average at 18.1 seconds on two head and he was awarded another $1,542. Earning third place in the first round was Justin Smith at 9.2 seconds and earned $674. The second round also saw Hunter Reaume and Riley Pruitt tie for second at 9.8 seconds and each were rewarded with $585.
Megan Champion had the crowd on their collective feet when she won the barrel racing event. She cleared all the barrels in 17.20 seconds and brought home $3,093. Carly Taylor placed second at 17.36 seconds and was awarded $2,474. Cheyenne Wimberley placed third at 17.40 and brought home $2,010.
Bull riding action kicked off each day, and was also the finale for each day. Aaron Williams placed first with his 89 point ride on Big Stone Rodeo Inc’s War Car. Williams earned $3,440 for his efforts. Boudreaux Campbell placed second with a ride of 86.5 and brought home $2,638. J.T. Moore placed third in the event with an 86.0 ride and took home $1,950 in prize money.
The Oakdale Saddle Club hosted the event. Mayor JR McCarty served as the Grand Marshal during Saturday morning’s Oakdale Rodeo Parade.
