The 34th Annual Coors Cowboy Club Ranch Rodeo was held June 3-4 in Amarillo at the Tri-State Fairgrounds. Fourteen ranches from across the Texas Panhandle, New Mexico, and Oklahoma competed in the event. Hemphill County’s Smith Oasis Ranch was able to defend their first-place title for the second consecutive year by winning the average in wild-cow milking and bronc riding (rider J.D. Reed), and second in trailer loading. The 59-section Smith Oasis Ranch is a cow-calf operation that runs 1,350 momma cows and calves year-round, located east of Canadian along the Canadian River. Team members, pictured here from left to right, are: Travis Hill and Marshall Long of Canadian; J.D. Reed of Spearman; Dusty Drake of Sayre, Oklahoma; J.D. Long of Amarillo; and Jarrett Proffitt of Canadian.

Two local rodeo riders have qualified for this year’s Texas High School State Rodeo Finals, which began on Monday and will continue through Saturday, June 11, at Abilene’s Taylor Telecom Arena. The state finals rodeo is an annual, weeklong event where high school students across Texas and surrounding states come and compete.

THE LAST TIME John Saucedo performed on a concert stage in Canadian was back in the spring of 2010. On a lark, “Sauce” and his buddies—Brad Layman, Taylor Schafer, Brad Hickey, and Emmett Webb—threw together an impromptu band over the previous weekend, and entered the Canadian’s Got Talent competition.

Mark your calendar for Thursday, June 16, and call us today to reserve your spot for the upcoming tour of the Gene Howe Wildlife Management Area. Kelly Bashaw, GHWMA wildlife biologist, will take us on a tour and provide insight to some of the plants, animals, and other critters found on this unique piece of land in Hemphill County.