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ASHLAND — Scan the contestant trailer area at the Cattlemen Days Rodeo and you’ll find a sample of Midwestern license plates: Missouri, Illinois, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota.
As an event in the Great Lakes Circuit of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, this weekend’s 34th annual rodeo drew competitors from all over the central United States. There was a parade Saturday afternoon in Ashland, and the rodeo wrapped up Saturday night.
- Cowboy boots lay strewn in the dust as competitors prepared for the saddle bronc riding competition at the Cattlemen Days Rodeo on Saturday in Ashland. The goal of the competition is to stay on a bucking bronco as long and in the best form as possible.
- Cody Rud adjusts his saddle to prepare for the saddle bronc riding competition at the Cattlemen Days Rodeo on Saturday in Ashland.
- Brothers Jarod and Matthew Aholt played on the rodeo arena's fence prior to the Cattlemen Days Rodeo on Saturday. Their parents said they watched the horse film "Flicka" this week which helped inspire them to take the brothers to their first rodeo.
- Marty Morehart scratches her Longhorn steer Sancho at the Cattlemen Days Rodeo on Saturday in Ashland. Sancho weighs more than 2000 lbs and has a total horn length of more than 122 inches.
The Great Lakes Circuit is composed of nine states and stretches from Minnesota to Missouri and as far east as Ohio, according to its website.
Sunshine Schwartz, 21, of Anoka, Minn., traveled 500 miles Friday to get to Ashland for the event.
Schwartz, a bull rider since the age of 7 who participates in around 100 rodeos a year, said he was drawn to the Cattlemen Days Rodeo by the prize money and because it is a circuit event.
He said he’s had the opportunity to meet other people from around the circuit on his trips.
“I pretty much know everybody that goes regularly,” Schwartz said.
The defending circuit bull riding champion, Schwartz has participated in events in New York and Las Vegas. This weekend was his first trip to the Cattlemen Days Rodeo.
Kyle Whitaker, 34, of Chambers, Neb., spent most of Saturday traveling to Ashland to compete in the steer wrestling, tie-down roping and saddle-bronc riding.
He left his home at 7 a.m., and two flat tires pushed his transit time to 11 hours.
“For me, it’s a good circuit rodeo,” Whitaker said. “I haven’t been to a lot of circuit rodeos this year, and I’m trying for the Great Lakes Circuit Finals in Louisville, Kentucky.”
Whitaker, who has been participating in rodeo since he was a child, said he has come to the Cattlemen Days Rodeo for at least 10 years.
According to rodeo chairman Bruce Glascock, there are a couple main draws that attract contestants to the Cattlemen Days Rodeo.
One is the prize money. Each event has an entry fee that feeds the prize pool, on top of which the Cattlemen Days Rodeo adds $2,000. The top four or six finishers in each event receive a share of the prize money, depending on how many competitors are in the event, according to Glascock.
Glascock said an event winner could take home $1,000 and $1,500.
In addition to the money, Glascock said the location of the rodeo is also appealing to competitors.
“We have an excellent facility here,” Glascock said. “We get a lot of comments on our arena and facility.”
But no matter how nice the facility is or how far away it is from home, Schwartz is eager to participate.
“A rodeo is a rodeo. It’s fun,” Schwartz said.
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