Firefighters' rodeo in town
NORTH WASHINGTON — The volunteer firefighters in North Washington are doing more than fighting fires this week.
All year the firefighters along with volunteers from the community have been preparing for the 54th annual North Washington Rodeo.
“Putting together this event is a yearlong process between us and the committees,” said Sam Swearingen, owner and operator of the Rawhide Rodeo, based in upstate New York.
Rawhide Rodeo arrived a week before the event began Tuesday to set up at the arena. Swearingen said his company brought half of the livestock Sunday and the other half arrived Monday.
About 250 to 300 total contestants are competing this week, with about 60 to 75 competing each night. There are different contestants every day. Riders travel on a rodeo circuit, meaning they will be here one night, then Ohio or Michigan the next, depending on the competitions.
According to Swearingen, there are seven events for riders: bareback riding, bull riding, saddle bronc riding, barrel riding, steer wrestling, breakaway roping and team roping.
The prize money and length of the rodeo make it a big event.
“It makes us one of the largest rodeos east of the Mississippi,” said Jim Zanella, North Washington Rodeo chairman.
The riders compete for $2,400 in prize money for each event, with the money coming from the fire department and riders' entry fees.
“This is a sanctioned rodeo,” Swearingen said. “Contestants have to belong to an association to compete.”
The majority of contestants are 18 to 30 years old.
“This is a young man's game,” Swearingen noted.
And the events go on rain or shine.
“We have contestants from all over; we don't cancel for rain,” Swearingen said.There are 130 animals total including horses, steers, bulls and calves at the rodeo; all are provided by Swearingen. However, contestants entering the roping contests and the barrel racing can use their own horses.More livestock will come in for the last couple nights of the rodeo, and some of the animals will go back to Swearingen's 500 acre farm in New York.Swearingen said he enjoys raising the animals and seeing them perform.“I breed for bucking animals; it's great when they perform,” he said.It is not just about the rider staying on the animal. Riders need to stay on for eight seconds to qualify, but they also are judged on their performance and on the animal's performance.The animals only perform once, maybe twice, during the rodeo.The animals at the rodeo are kept in pens and are fed grain and hay.“It costs about $2 a day to feed each animal,” Swearingen said.The safety of riders and animals is important to the rodeo, and there is a mandatory ambulance there every night. There is also a veterinarian on call in case an animal is injured.Another safety measure is performed before the rodeo begins. The arena is dragged every day before the show and after one of the events to smooth the dirt out and prevent injury.“The arena is 25 percent sand and 75 percent clay,” Swearingen said, pointing out the mixture helps the animals with their footing.Many things like this on the grounds are maintained by the firefighters and other volunteers.“There is a lot that goes on before the show starts at 8 p.m.,” said Nick Grove, North Washington Volunteer Fire Department chief.Grove and other volunteer firefighters take the week off from their jobs to be at the rodeo all week. They maintain the grounds and keep the animals watered and fed.“What we do here this week will help pay for a lot of things at the fire station,” he said.Zanella said the fire departments makes about $50,000 on average a year from the rodeo.Zanella has been chairman of the rodeo for the past 11 years, but was affiliated with the rodeo years before that.“I was involved as a sponsor for years and years,” he said.An event this large requires help from many volunteers.“We put the call out; they send help,” Zanella said. The volunteers help direct traffic and make sure each night runs smoothly.The rodeo also provides the option of a home cooked dinner.“The concessions are manned by community volunteers,” Zanella said.Peg Hotert of North Washington, president of the North Washington Ladies Auxiliary, said, “I have been serving all this time.”She has been volunteering at the rodeo since it started.The volunteers serve more than 200 meals a night; each night is a different home cooked meal. Some of the entrees include roast beef, chicken and braised beef.“We do everything here, no pre-made foods,” Hotert said. “As long as I'm living, it will be done from scratch.”Grove said firefighters from the North Washington department and surrounding departments pitch in to help.“The same people getting you out of a car or a burning building are the same ones serving you food,” Grove said.
<B>WHAT: </B>North Washington Rodeo<B>WHERE: </B>North Washington Rodeo Arena, Oneida Valley Road, (Route 38)<B>WHEN: </B>8 p.m. daily through Saturday; free concert each night before the rodeo events<B>COST: </B>$14 for adults and $6 for children ages 4 to 12. Children age 3 and younger are admitted free.
