Bull riders highlight of afternoon

Thursday's Round-Up is in the books.

John Alps had the best time of the day in an unimpressive 15.5-second run in the steer roping.

Defending Round-Up barrel racing champion Maegan Reichert had the top time of the day in her event, with a 28.62-second run. If you're a barrel racing fan, the barrel pattern in Pendleton is nothing like you've ever seen before. It's huge, because the arena is so large, with dirt only on the track around a grass infield. That's where the place the barrels that the racers have to ride around. And that's why the times are more than twice what you would normally expect to see in a barrel racing event.

The bull riders did better in the second section of the bull riding. There were several qualified rides, but Zack Oakes wowed the crowd and set the pace with an 89-point ride on appropriately named Action Cat. Oakes was the first rider out in the second section, and in spite of some scores in the low 80s, no one was able to catch him.

On a weather note, the rain held off and the sun came out for the late part of the afternoon, and the blustery winds that greeting rodeo fans died down. The day ended on a sunny and almost warm note.

That's it for me for today, at least as far as the posts I'm going to make live from the grounds. I may try to make another post later, or add photos to some of the posts I made today. But for now, the laptop battery is running low. Both the machine, and the man, need a recharge.

By the way, all results post here are unofficial and don't include times or scores from the slack competition earlier in the day. Check this link for official results, which are scheduled to be posted here (on the official Round-Up website) probably later tonight. I will also try to post official result too if I can.

So, signing off for now from the Round-Up grounds in Pendleton, Ore., this is Gary West of the Capital Press.

Pendleton Round-Up
Rodeo
Agriculture