Katlin Jones has a calf in her sights during breakaway roping at the Grant County Rodeo at Iron Triangle Arena on Aug. 3, 2024.

JOHN DAY — Rodeo fans packed Iron Triangle Outdoor Arena at the Grant County Fairgrounds for the annual Idaho Cowboys Association rodeo on Thursday, Aug. 1, and Friday, Aug. 2.

The rodeo is the traditional kickoff event for the Grant County Fair, which runs Wednesday-Saturday, Aug. 7-10.

Attendees were treated to a parade of fair and rodeo queens, which included Grant County Fair and Rodeo Queen Lavina Kiser, of Mt. Vernon, and Spray Rodeo Queen Rowdy Israel, of Dayville. Another mini-parade, highlighting the fair’s many sponsors, which include Iron Triangle, Old West Federal Credit Union, Chester’s Markets and 1188 Brewing Co., set the stage for a memorable rendition of the national anthem prior to the start of competition.

Once competition got underway, attendees were kept on the edge of their seats watching events such as saddle bronc riding, team roping, barrel racing and bullriding in both the novice and professional levels of competition.

In results that were still unofficial at press time, Houston Roth took top honors in bareback riding with a score of 64. The saddle bronc riding crown was claimed by Jace England, who scored a 72 in the event.

Ranch bronc riding was one of the more competitive events at the rodeo, with a tie for first place and a three-way deadlock for runner-up. Teagan Hill and Sabien Bohrn finished ahead of the pack with scores of 68.

Carl Gray, Cutter Marsh and Hill all finished in a runner-up tie with 66 points in the event.

Tie-down roping saw Tommy Jack Rose completely dominate the field, winning the event with an 8.3 second time that was 0.8 seconds faster than second place finisher Justin Parke.

Breakaway roping was also very competitive with first and third place separated by a mere 0.3 seconds. Amanda Hodges wound up the top woman in breakaway roping with a time of 2.6 seconds to just edge second-place finisher Jetta Bott’s 2.7 second breakaway time.

Steer racing produced yet another dominant performance as Trevor Maddox took top honors in the event with a time of 4.9 seconds, besting second place Justin Smith’s 6.7 second time by more than a second and a half.

Team roping saw Clayton and Chase Hansen hold off 23 other roping teams and claim the top spot with their time of 4.1 seconds. Two roping duos tied for second place with runs of 4.7 seconds each.

The barrel racing competition saw Jordan Minor’s 17.874 second run carry her to a slim victory over second-place finisher Sammy Nelson and her 18.020 time. Minor beat out 25 other barrel racing participants for the top spot in the event.

Results for the cowhide race, novice bullriding and bullriding were not provided by High Call Rodeo prior to press time.