For the 73rd year, the Oakdale Saddle Club Rodeo was staged this past weekend, hosted at the West F Street rodeo grounds on April 12 and 13. Thousands of rodeo fans packed the grandstands, VIP sections and standing room only at the rodeo grounds, with bright sunshine and temperatures ranging from the mid-70s to mid-80s during the competition. Fans from around the globe showed up to see bull riding, saddle bronc, barrel racing, tie-down roping, bareback riding, steer wrestling and team roping for two days.
Collecting total earnings of $6,740 the coveted All-Around Cowboy title for this year’s edition of the PRCA, Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, event went to Paden Bray. He took part in tie-down roping and team roping.
Also on hand was the 15-time PRCA Act of the Year, The One Armed Bandit John Payne. Locals from Oakdale, Escalon, Turlock and other surrounding areas participated in some of the events as well.
“This is the rodeo to go to;” said attendee Aiden Holden of nearby Linden, who said he goes to several rodeo events including Reno, La Grange, Livermore and the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
Lending his voice once again for the crowd was Jody Carper. Entertaining the crowd between riders was clown/barrelman Rider Kienser.
Kienser was very interactive with the audience, much to the delight of those in the stands.
“My kids really enjoyed him. He made it extra fun for them,” said Todd Thorton, who traveled with his family of six from Idaho just to see the action.
Bullfighters were Dave Murdoch, Josh Daries and Austin Jones. Rick Moffatt, Jared Groene and Jeff Shearer were the pick up men. Singing the National Anthem on Saturday was Scott DeRuiter and on Sunday it was the duo of Natalie and Brianne Coelho. Some of Oakdale’s own participated over the weekend including Sid Harvey, Wardo Fuhlendorf, Andy Guzman, Kelsey Cadwell, Caden Farquer, Colton Farquer, Maci Harvey, Blake Branquinho, Ryan Wells and Joseph Shawnego.
Here are the top finishers in each of the various events, as provided by the Oakdale Saddle Club.
BULL RIDING: Colten Fritzlan 85.50; Kyle Eaton 83.00; Thayne Elshere 82.00; Justin Houston 81.50
BARREL RACING: Tricia Aldridge 17.28; Kathy Petska 17.39; Leslie Smalygo 17.40; Doskie Edwards 17.43
TIE-DOWN ROPING: Tom Simpson 21.4; Garrett Busby 21.6; Brushton Minton 21.8; Monty Lewis 22.0
SADDLE BRONC: Kole Ashbacher 85.00; Jasper Frost 84.00; Lefty Holman 83.00; Tucker Bourdet 82.50
TEAM ROPING: Paden Bray/Wyatt Bray 14.9; Aaron Tsinigine/Jade Corkill 15.4; D.J. Parker/Jordan Ketscher 15.9; Marcus Battaglia/Todd Hampton 16.3
BAREBACK: Myles Carlson 86.50; R.C. Landingham 85.50; Jacek Frost 84.50; Clayton Biglow 81.00
STEER WRESTLING: Denell Henderson 11.2; Darcy Kersh 13.1; Seth Peterson 13.6; Quentin Wheeler 16.1
More than $154,000 was paid out in prize money; Four Star Rodeo served as the stock contractor.
