BMCC Rodeo Booster Club President Rebecca Manning (far right) presents a check to Blue Mountain Community College's Vice President of Student Services Theresa Bosworth last year in support of the BMCC rodeo team. At left are booster club member Haylee Harper and BMCC Athletic Director Brad Baker.

PENDLETON — The Northwest Intercollegiate Rodeo Finals are coming to an arena near you.

Blue Mountain Community College will host this year’s event April 26-27 at the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center in Hermiston.

The event would not be possible without the help of the BMCC Rodeo Booster Club, which has made it possible for BMCC to host the event for the 51st year in a row.

“The board has been around more than 70 years,” booster club president Rebecca Manning said. “It has had different names over years trying to keep the sport alive.”

The April 26 event is a Northwest Region rodeo. Slack will begin at 2 p.m., with the main performance at 6 p.m. The booster club has added $200 per event for Friday’s rodeo.

The finals will be April 27. Slack will begin at 1 p.m., with the performance at 5 p.m. The top 10 in each event will be featured in the performance.

Tickets are $10 per day, and concessions will be available.

The booster club raises money and donates it to the BMCC rodeo program, and has for more than 50 years. Last year, they awarded the BMCC program $15,000. This year’s amount will be $20,000.

According to booster club history, when the BMCC rodeo program was is in jeopardy decades ago, a handful of local community men, including Dean Longgood, Butch Thurman, Leonard Aldrich, Larry Cave and John Betz got together on the tailgates of their pickups and came up with a way to keep the rodeo team alive.

They joined with community members, and even opened their own wallets at times to support the program.

“It’s good to be a part of something that is part of the next generation,” Manning said. “Our program has skin in the game. We can stand up to the big boys. Our rodeo booster club also raises funds for scholarships for the kids.”

BMCC rodeo coach Trevor Patterson said he appreciates everything the booster club does for his program, including a top-notch Northwest Intercollegiate Rodeo Finals.

The finals were first held at the Pendleton Round-Up Arena, where they brought in fencing to make an arena within the arena, and used the first few bucking chutes. The rodeo was held on a combination of dirt and grass.

The event then moved to Hermiston and the old Farm-City Pro Rodeo arena next to the high school. The rodeo has been at EOTEC since it opened.

Patterson, in his first year with the program, said the athletes have exceeded his expectations.

“You always want to be better, but as a whole and not really recruiting any of them, they have exceeded expectations, especially on the men’s side,” Patterson said. “Cord (Gomes) and Hunter (Greenup) return, and the rest are freshmen. I didn’t know what to expect, but to clinch a team spot to the finals is pretty cool.”

The top two teams and top three athletes in each event advance to the College National Finals Rodeo June 10-15 at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, Wyoming.

The top two men’s teams get to take six athletes, while the women get four.

BMCC is sitting second in the men’s team standings behind Treasure Valley Community College with two weeks of rodeo left on the schedule — this weekend in Ontario, and next week in Hermiston.

The BMCC women are also second behind TVCC, and have a chance to overtake the Chukars with a couple of good performances.

“I think the girls’ expectations were higher,” Patterson said. “Kennedy (Buckner) is the reserve national champion in breakaway, and she’s eighth right now. There are four rodeos left in these last two weekends. There’s still hope for anyone still in the top 15.”

Buckner is leading the women’s all-around with a sizable lead over Shada Edwards of TVCC.

“The men’s and women’s all-around winners get to go (to nationals) in their highest overall event,” Patterson said. “If Kennedy makes it in goat tying, she can pick up breakaway. It’s a clean slate when you get to nationals.”

BMCC does not have anyone in contention for the men’s all-around.

Greenup, from Heppner, is leading the bareback event with 836.5 points as of April 19. He has a 120-point lead over the next man.

Gomes, from Antelope, is second in steer wrestling, but trails leader Zane Taylor of TVCC by just 38 points.

Gomes, who is competing on his rookie permit in Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association events, is leading the steer wrestling in the Columbia River Circuit with $3,899.

Parker Buchanan, an Oregon cowboy, leads the bull riding by nearly 100 points.

Team ropers Luke Brannon and Wyatt Skovgard, who are both from Idaho, are second in the standings, but are just 22 points out of first. Skovgard also is fifth in tie-down roping, but nearly 500 points out of first.

“There is a large legacy with this team,” Patterson said of alum who have gone on to have great success in the PRCA. “It’s nice to see them go on.”

Blake Knowles, RC Landingham, Jason Stewart, Austin Foss, Dakota Eldridge and Dalton Massey are in that group, just to name a few.

Buckner, from Powell Butte, is ranked third in goat tying, with teammate Mecarte Cook of Culver fourth. Taylor Jones from Adel is third in breakaway roping. Buckner also is seventh barrel racing.

Personnel for the event will include bull fighters Miles Barry and Ryan Manning, announcer Quentin Garland, and photographers Brian and Jennifer Blake of Pendleton.