Sierra Valley Roping Club Junior Rodeo Returns

SIERRAVILLE — Young riders from two states worked through a 27-event program at the Sierra Valley Roping Club’s junior rodeo on Saturday, August 29, which opened with grand entry at 9:00 AM and ran late into the afternoon. Entry sheets at the arena put the field at more than 60 contestants, and several hundred spectators came through the Sierraville Rodeo Grounds over the course of the day. The club has staged the rodeo since 1983.

Competitors were grouped by age, in divisions of 0 to 7, 8 to 11, and 12 to 16, and a separate Pee Wee division ran its events at the cook shack instead of the arena. The order of events moved from pole bending through breakaway roping, goat tying, sheep riding, sack roping, team roping, barrel racing, calf riding, a boot race, and steer riding. The club crowned its queens partway through the day, after the breakaway roping, and the queens later drew the winners of the rodeo raffle.

The draw sheets listed contestants from across Northern California and western Nevada. Nevada entries came from Reno, Sparks, Fallon, and Carson City. California entries ran from Gazelle, Vina, Gerber, and Cottonwood in the north, down through Grass Valley, Smartsville, Wheatland, Lincoln, Arbuckle, and Plymouth, and included Truckee and Tahoe City along with the Sierra Valley towns of Sierraville, Loyalton, Calpine, Sattley, Beckwourth, Vinton, and Chilcoot.

Six riders took all-around titles. Jake Wesselman of Lincoln won All-Around Cowboy in the 12-to-16 division, Karson Boyle of Sheridan won it at 8 to 11, and Hansen Teixeira of Reno won it at 0 to 7. Kinley Osbourn of San Andreas was All-Around Cowgirl at 12 to 16, Braelynn Bartow of Grass Valley at 8 to 11, and Hallie Jo DeForest of Sheridan at 0 to 7.

The rodeo also awards a Jim Roeder Memorial Local All-Around title, which went to Waylon Greenwood of Beckwourth and Gracie Joy of Chilcoot. Roeder was the voice of the Sierra Valley Roping Club, announcing the rodeo for nine years before his death from cancer in 2021. Roeder’s widow, Babs, and her family sponsor buckles for the rodeo in his memory.

Jolie Fisher was crowned Senior Queen, and Hazel Tipton of Sierraville was crowned Junior Queen. The local award and the junior crown have effectively traded hands since 2023, when Gracie Joy was the rodeo’s Junior Queen and Hazel Tipton shared the Jim Roeder Memorial local cowgirl title with Katherine Joy of Beckwourth.

Three Pee Wee champions were named. Brooks Schulthies of Gridley won goat undecorating, Jonathan Jace Thompson of Reno won stick horse barrels, and Judah Stahl of Loyalton won dummy roping.

The rodeo is made possible by Sierra Valley Roping Club members. McCuen Construction, Inc. was the rodeo’s Gold Buckle sponsor, followed by dozens of businesses, ranches, and families, contributing at different levels. The Feather River College Rodeo Team helped set up the arena for each event. Eastern Plumas Healthcare and the Sierraville Fire Department staged in case of an emergency, and Lazy C BBQ provided food and drink.