Crowds saddle up for rodeo entertainment

Cowboys riding bulls and roping steers may have been the main attractions at the Lynden Rodeo Friday, Aug. 22, but there was plenty of other entertainment for the approximately 4,000 people who attended.

The Cowboy Gift and Trade Show, a Boundary Bay Brewery beer garden and plenty of food kept the crowds captivated before the rodeo began.

Once 7:30 p.m. rolled around, though, all eyes turned to the rodeo, where rodeo clown J.J. Harrison had people laughing and cheering at his antics.

The rodeo had eight competitions: bareback bronc riding, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, mutton busting, team roping, barrel racing and bull riding.

The rodeo is one of hundreds that are part of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and are held all over the U.S.

Mike Beers, of Post, Ore., was one of the first cowboys out the gate. He participated in the team roping competition with his son, Brandon. Two cowboys on horseback try to rope a steer around the horns and the legs in the fastest time possible.

Beers, who has been to the national finals 24 times, said the tough competition featured in the Lynden rodeo made him want to come here.

"It's going to be tough with the teams that are up here," Beers said. "It's a pretty tough rodeo, but (the organizers) have done a good job. They get great crowds."

Henry P. Tjoelker was at the event displaying an antique sled that was used to deliver people and mail in the Yukon Territory in Canada in the early 1900s.

Tjoelker said his son owns the sled, but he restored it by repairing its undercarriage.
The sled is a rarity: Tjoelker said it's one of three still in existence and the only one fully restored.

"It's just another job done," Tjoelker said. "I can do another if I like. I've done restoration work all my life."