Tracie Saunders and Lori Ireland took the top honors Wednesday at the 92nd annual Reno Rodeo’s women’s team roping competition.

The team has finished in the money the past three years, but this year their overall time of 42.56 seconds helped launch them to the championship circle for the first time. They will share a generous purse of $30,000.

Tammy White and Tammy Lewis took second with 46.49 seconds and will share a $15,000 prize; Tibba Smith and Lari Dee Guy finished third at 55.18 seconds for a $6,000 prize.

But in Reno, “The Biggest Little City in the World,” there’s always a chance to win even if it’s not the grand prize.

Wendy Bekkedahl sat high in the stands watching the competition Wednesday afternoon. She and her teammate, Jenny Gilbert,

Wendy Bekkedahl, left, and Jenny Gilbert • Photo by Michael Thompson

got pushed to the third steer (based on the number of successful roping tries) because they failed to rope one of their steers and didn’t advance to the final round. But they still won a little money – $3,250 – when they placed second in the third steer round. The team of Amy Williams and Kera Washburn placed first, taking home $3,500.

That’s one of the reasons Reno is so popular, said Bekkedahl, you can miss and not go to the finals and still win.

“We all roped three,” she said. “Normally when you miss, you’re out.”

Team roping is especially challenging because there are so many variables involved: two people on horseback, one trying to rope the head or horns, the other trying to rope the feet of a running steer that doesn’t want to be roped.

“It’s twelve hundred bucks to enter,” Bekkedahl said, so competitors have to be pretty serious to come down here.

Competitive roping is a way of life of way of life for her.

“I’ve been roping competitively since I was eight years old and I’m 36 now,” she said, adding that over the years she’s competed in at least 2,000 events, but usually stays within a couple hundred miles from home. This is her first time competing in Reno.

It may have been rough inside the Reno Livestock Events Center, but the competitors in the PRCA and WPRA slack events held in the outside arena had to contend with 94-degree heat and blazing sunshine.
The finalists in the double header roping events will advance to the finals tonight. Those events continue Thursday in the outdoor arena, while the Mercuria/NcHA/PCCHA/NRC and CHA approved cutting event kicks off at 7 a.m. inside.

Wednesday’s action saw a scary spill when the horse ridden by Tara Twisselman, sister of the men’s BFI team roping champion Caleb Twisselman, fell during the third steer round Wednesday afternoon.
There were several anxious moment as Tara Twisselman and her team roping partner and mother Cathie Twisselman hovered over the horse that lay on the ground. Finally, to hearty audience applause, Tara’s horse got up and was able to walk out of the arena.

“It’s a family sport. It doesn’t matter how old or how young,” said Cathie Twisselman.

–Reporters Michael Thompson, Rahel Solomon and Debbie Douglass contributed to this report.

Horse caretakers at the Reno Rodeo made sure the animals got plenty of water Wednesday. -Photo by Sundra Hominik

By Scott Waltman

Making sure horses are well cared for during the Reno Rodeo is just sound business sense.

“These animals get treated better than people” because many are worth more than $100,000, said a Reno Rodeo security guard who declined to be identified. Horses “get the royal treatment,” the man said.

Online articles about top rodeo horse sales confirm the six-figure values. That type of investment demands proper care.

Wednesday’s high temperature was 94 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. To keep horses cool, crews patrolled the rodeo grounds making sure horses were sprayed with water three times, said Kristine Willey, a Reno Rodeo wrangler.

Both horses and humans battled the sweltering heat.

Lee Kendell, a security guard at the rodeo, said an elderly man struggling with the hot weather had to be helped inside. But, he said, that was the only health-related problem he had heard of.

Wednesday was actually slightly cooler than Tuesday, when the high temperature in Reno was 95 degrees. According to the Weather Service, the two days are expected to be the hottest during this year’s rodeo.

“Yesterday was hotter than hell,” said Adam Hill, a member of the crew cleaning the outdoor arena after the slack competition finished. “The breeze made it tolerable today.

Vendors said water was a big seller at concession stands Wednesday. And horses got all they wanted to drink, too.

Deena Edmonston, who competed in the women-only team roping event, said she was keeping her horse, Checks, in an enclosed, shady stable. Her partner, Kelly Bogel, was doing the same.

The teammates watered their horses every 30 minutes or so to keep them hydrated, Edmonston said. But, she said, she wasn’t concerned about the horses overheating because, like humans, horses can sweat.

“You gotta make sure you offer them water,” Edmonston said. “I offer it to them, but you know the staying: you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink.”

In such hot weather, many riders wear straw hats that range in price from $80 to $150, said Don Reim, a licensed master hatter with Circle R Custom Hatters. Reim said he is working his 28^th rodeo.

Wednesday’s warm weather didn’t bother some folks at the rodeo.

“It’s nice,” said Mike Montero, a Reno Rodeo director. “It’s your basic summertime rodeo weather. The evenings are beautiful.”

And the heat has not taken a toll on attendance, said Steve Schroeder, spokesman for the Reno Rodeo. Concessions and ticket sales have increased 15 percent in the past two years.

Had the cool weather of early June persisted, it could have hindered attendance, Schroeder said.

Stalls helped keep horses cool Wednesday at the Reno Rodeo when the temperature reached 94 degrees. -Photo by Morgan Young

-Kimiko Fieg-Peterson, Sundra Hominik, Mike Odom, Amity Paye and Morgan Young contributed to this report.

Lori Ireland • Photo by Michael Thompson

4:45 p.m. — Michael Thompson scored an interview with the championship team of Tracie Saunders, header, and Lori Ireland, heeler, both from Idaho, near Boise.

They were excited, but like most cowboys who are polite but modest with their words, these cowgirls were no different:

Ireland: “It’s just one steer at a time.”

Saunders: “I thought the steer was a little heavy.”

Saunders: “I thought Lori did a good job (roping the feet).”

Saunders on the competition: “It’s a blast.”

The women have been roping since they were little kids. This is the third year they’ve won something, but their first time winning it all.

“There’s no better feeling,” said Saunders.

— Sundra Hominik

Photo by Sundra Hominik

Photo by Sundra Hominik

4:05 p.m. — Cole Bigby of Alabama is a big rodeo fan. But that’s not the only thing that keeps him coming back to Reno. “I like the good times. The casinos. We don’t have those back home.”

—  Sundra Hominik

Photo by Michael Thompson

4:30 p.m. — The horse that fell during the third round of the women’s team roping competition appears to be OK. The horse was competing with Cathie Twisselman and Tara Twisselman. Could roping run in the family? Caleb Twisselman and his partner Colby Siddoway took first place in Monday’s BFI professional men’s team roping event.

Twisselman suggested that a good way to prepare for the sport is to get a horse and practice with a manufactured roping dummy.

Debbie also caught up with Sue Davis, owner of The Desert Equine in Reno. The facility provides boarding for ropers and their horses when they arrive here.