Sisters Rodeo in the chute: A look at the top contenders

The 76th annual Sisters Rodeo kicks off Wednesday night with Xtreme Bulls, and crews are working around the clock to make sure everything goes without a hitch at this weekend’s event.

The rodeo is expecting more than 30,000 visitors this weekend. Tickets are still available, but officials say they expect Saturday to be sold out.

Here’s the Sisters Rodeo’s description of what’s coming up and some of the top contenders:

Xtreme Bulls storms the Sisters Rodeo this Wednesday night, with 42 riders hoping for eight seconds on some of the toughest and most athletic bulls in professional rodeo. The gates open at 5:30 for the 7:00 p.m. all-bulls, all thrills event.

Seth Glause, a former Sisters Bull Ride Champion, is back in action after multiple season-ending injuries in 2013. He will have tremendous competition, including current number 7 in World Standings, Cody Kiser.

The action will be fast and wild as these cowboys try to maintain balance on one-ton animals that include seven National Rodeo Finals bulls.

Then, rodeo begins Friday night, with a whopping 425 cowboys and cowgirls entered in seven PRCA events along with Wild Horse Racing at the 76th Sisters Rodeo.

Trevor Knowles, last year’s All-Around Champion at Sisters, will compete with many top contenders and a few rookies rated in the Top Ten Rookie World Standings.

Terrebonne’s Russell Cardoza is riding this season at second place in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association All-Around Standings. Cardoza competes in tie down roping, team roping (with header Dustin Bird) and steer wrestling.

The young Central Oregon competitor has been rising steadily in the PRCA since he began his career in local rodeo training facilities, which have put Central Oregon on the rodeo map nationwide.

Sisters will also see the return of Taos Muncy, who broke the arena record in Saddle Bronc riding last year with an 88-point ride. Saddle Bronc brings riders who are in the top ten in 2016 standings, including Jake Watson at number 4 and Jake Wright at number 6.

Bareback Riding has Clayton Biglow currently at number 1, Zack Brown at number 4 and Cody Kiser at number 7. Brian Bain of Powell Butte is also a rider to watch in this event. Bain is a local favorite, not just for rodeo, but also for his striking bronze sculpture of horses and riders galloping through the field just south of Sisters on Highway 20.

The Saddle Bronc competition is loaded with current riders in the top of the PRCA standings, including Jake Watson at number 4 and Jake Wright at number 6, vying for numbers that can beat Taos Muncy.

Shane Erickson of Terrebonne is a tie-down roper to watch as he tries to get the short time in a total of forty-two competitors in this event over the weekend

There are sixty barrel racers competing, including the legendary Brenda Mays and her sister Vicki Mays of Terrebonne. This crowd-favorite event has fifteen racers per performance over the weekend.

A dozen steer wrestlers will tackle steers at each performance. A total of thirty-one team roping teams will throw their ropes for fastest time over the three days, and there will be a pounding eighteen bull rides per show.

Many of the timed-even competitors will be riding for their first go-round times on Thursday during Slack competition, beginning at about 8:00 am. The public is welcome to watch Slack at no charge. There are no bucking events at Slack, which will run from early morning until about 1:00 p.m.

The rodeo performances begin Friday at 7:00 p.m., Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m., Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The ticket office in Sisters is closed before noon on Friday, to reopen 90 minutes before each performance at the rodeo grounds.

More information:http://sistersrodeo.com/