The 71st Annual Cottage Grove Rodeo is July 12-13 at Cottage Grove Riding Club, 77954 Highway 99. Pictured is Cottage Grove resident and Misfit Toy Ranch co-owner Naomi Driscoll, seen as she carries the American flag at the start of last year’s event. She will be carrying the flag this year on Military Night – an apt responsibility considering her husband, Zach Driscoll, is gearing up for his fourth U.S. Army deployment in January 2020. On Friday, all active duty and veterans with military IDs receive 50 percent off their ticket prices at the gate. Events begin at 7 p.m. on Friday and at 9 a.m. on Saturday. More info: 503-829-8868 and nprarodeo.org. Chronicle archives
Locals on the Cottage Grove Rodeo roster:
Barrel Racing (a timed event in which horse and rider maneuver in a pattern around three barrels placed in a triangle): Hope Walpole and Shannon Prater, both of Creswell.
Breakaway Roping (a timed event in which a calf is released from a chute for a head start; the rider races out of the box and attempts to lasso the calf, stopping abruptly once successful so that the string securing the rope to the saddle horn breaks once the calf reaches the end of the rope, signaling the end of the run): Shania Schueller, of Creswell; and Jennifer Jenkinson and Josie Reno, both of Springfield.
Saddle Bronc Riding (an event in which a mounted rider bursts out of a bucking chute and the rider attempts to remain on the bucking horse for eight seconds without touching the horse with their free hand): Bill Peterson, of Springfield.
Team Roping (a timed event involving a pair of mounted riders: the ”header,” who ropes the steer’s horns or neck and uses his horse to turn the steer to the left, and the ”heeler,” who ropes the steer’s hind feet once it has been turned): Justin Reno and Bill Peterson, both of Springfield.
For a full list of contestants Go2: nprarodeo.org/draw19/CottageGroveDraw19.pdf
