Yee-Haw! La Pine Rodeo Bucks Up Some Fun

On Saturday, La Pine’s Frontier Days annual Fourth of July celebration drew hundreds, but the fun didn’t end there this weekend.

The ninth annual La Pine Rodeo drew nearly 300 competitors in events ranging from riding to roping, barrel racing and more.

These cowboys came to compete and have a fun time.

The La Pine Rodeo board, members and volunteers have been working countless hours since last year’s hugely successful rodeo to once again bring La Pine the annual sanctioned rodeo.

For the past few years, though, the first thing visitors might notice when they enter the gates is a long line of young children waiting to ride a sheep inside the ring.

The event is called Mutton Bustin’, and it’s a huge crowd-pleaser in La Pine.

“Well, we’ve gotten feedback from people as far away as Sweden. We’ve had some people from Germany here and even Japan,” said Scott Morrison, president of the La Pine Rodeo Association. “The nicest compliment I think we’ve ever gotten is somebody said, ‘Wow, this is a slice of Americana,’ — and that’s what it is.”

This year’s rodeo queen was 18-year-old Kelsey Dozier of La Pine.

Sunday’s rodeo also honored the La Pine Rural Fire District, specifically Capt. James Palmer, who died in a crash back in May.