Chicks N' Chaps brings pink back to the fair

PLAINS – Cowgirls Kicking Cancer hosted their annual Chicks N’ Chaps event, an event that helps raise money in the fight against breast cancer in Sanders County.

The event is a women’s rodeo clinic, where women get the opportunity to learn the sport of rodeo from PRCA cowboys and raise money for breast cancer in their local communities.

This year, co-chair of the event Rae Herman, said numbers were up.

Last year about 40 participants were involved while this year there were 51 participants.

The event kicked off with a silent auction and then the ladies present were given a behind the scenes tour of the bucking chutes and rodeo operations.

Lori Franzen, co-owner of the rodeo, explained the “science” behind rodeo.

“I want to talk to you about things that you absolutely have no idea about, the science of what goes on behind the chutes. It’s pretty phenomenal,” said Franzen.

As crewmembers sorted the horses for Friday night’s performance, Franzen explained the horses were sorted into the different chutes according to whether or not they were left or right footed.

“There’s something’s we do better right handed or left handed. Horses are the exact same,” said Franzen.

The horses, all of which have been owned since birth, are loaded in the proper chutes to help increase their bucking capacities.

“If we loaded him on the wrong delivery, he’d turn out and buck into the fence,” explained Franzen. “We have to know these horses in and out, every single one of them.”

Another science Franzen explained was the buck order. Each horse is carefully placed in an order, with a certain time and place.

That way Franzen and the rodeo crew can provide the announcers with the exact chute and time the horse bucks.

“That makes your production run that much faster. Every minute you save makes it much faster for you to enjoy the show,” said Franzen.

As the ladies watched the cowboys sort the horses into their bucking order and chutes, the horses kicked up dust. As they ran into the arena, many looked to be wild, which Franzen assured was not the case.

“These horses are worked every single day. They are not wild and crazy by any means because they are worked so much,” said Franzen.

The ladies then got to meet Justin Rumford, Powder River Rodeo’s clown and barrel man. Rumford has been a part of rodeos every since he was little but began his clowning career three and a half years ago, partly inspired to do so by the increased income.

Rodeoing ten months out of the year, Rumford and his wife travel around the country, working different rodeos.

Rumford explained his duties as both the clown and the barrel man. According to him, his job is 80 percent entertainment and 20 percent for the protection of the cowboys.

In recent years, the roles of rodeo have changed – the bullfighters are the “cowboy protectors” and the clowns are now the barrel man.

The barrel man is stationed inside of the barrel, an object usually placed in the middle of the arena. Often times the barrel provides a distraction to the bulls, causing the bulls to run into the barrel and allowing the cowboys to exit the arena.

“One out of 30 bulls will hit the barrel,” said Rumford.

Being in charge of the barrel is an important position, especially if the bullfighters are unable to distract an angry bull.

“Bulls are big on movement. They hit the barrel and it goes to rolling – the farther it rolls the more movement and they are going to hit it again,” said Rumford. “A lot of times I can be of some service instead of being the funny guy.”

The barrel made out of Kevlar has an inner padding to help protect the rodeo clown, while the outside is hard as a rock to help protect from any bulls that may hit the barrel.

“It’s kind of a thrill ride,” said Rumford.

After the tour, the ladies hit the arena where they practiced their team and individual roping, and competed against the bucking bull manned by bullfighters Lyndel Runyan and Cody Webster. New this year was a stick horse barrel race – an activity that saddled the women up on a stick horse and raced around barrels in order to get a feel for the sport.

After that a dinner of pulled pork, baked beans, homemade rolls and coleslaw was served, followed by brownies. Once the guest speaker from the Sanders County Cancer Network spoke, the ladies wrapped up the silent auction and headed to the rodeo.

This year the organization has received a facelift, gaining many new members from across the county. The organization, Cowgirls Kicking Cancer, plans to branch out with more events this year including a Cowboy Ball, a Babes and Bullets event and a bra slinging competition.

All the money from the events go to the Think Pink fund at the Clark Fork Valley Hospital. Last year the ladies provided 33 free mammograms, of which three had to have additional screenings. Both the CFVH and the Cancer Network of Sanders County received $2,500 each and the cancer network also provided five cancer patients with $500 gift certificates.

Although it was unsure of how many mammograms the event would provide this year, Herman said it would most likely be more than last year.

“We should be able to do more than (last year) because our membership is up. All the money we make on this event stays here in Sanders County and goes to the Think Pink fund,” said Herman.