Winnemucca Convention and Visitors Authority director Kim Petersen said he was pleased with the results. “The entire weekend was a success and everyone, including participants and spectators, were very pleased.”
The Winnemucca Cow Dog Trial kicked off the competitions, with canines taking to the arena in three classes. Loren Holmes and dogs Leo and Helga took first in the Brace Class. Sean McGee and Jake took top honors in the Open Class, and Molly Belding and Cee Cee were first in the Ranch Class.
During the Winnemucca Stock Horse Challenge, the horse named Smoke N Wranglers was deemed the Open Snaffle Bit/Hackamore champion. The horse is owned by Dan Macedo and was ridden by Clayton Edsall.
Genuine Rednic, owned by Sandra Friberg and ridden by Flint Lee, took first place in the Open Two-Rein/Bridle, while R Diamond Cat, owned by Kenny and Tammy Lee and ridden by Kenny Lee, took first in the Non-Pro Snaffle Bit/Hackamore. Gunolena Muchado, owned and ridden by Kelly Sullivan, was tops in the Non-Pro Two-Rein/Bridle.
Mini Debbie Lena was the high point sale horse at the event. She is owned by Jan Little and was ridden by Wade Reaney.
Additionally, the $500 Gene and Jody Christison Memorial Award was given to Genuine Rednic, owned by Sandra Friberg and ridden by Flint Lee. The award is granted to the horse and rider with the highest score in the Stock Horse Challenge.
The Winnemucca Ranch, Rope and Performance Horse Sale also did its part. The overall average of 42 horses sold was $4,142; and the top 10 average of horses sold was $7,745.
Kody Olena was the top-selling horse, drawing a price tag of $12,500 from buyers Tom and Dana Brown from Winnemucca, Nevada. Ted and Teresa Allen were the consignors from New Plymouth, Idaho.
The fourth annual Invitational Bull Sale was another draw for Western crowds. Petersen said, “Our buyers were thrilled with the quality of our bulls, and our consignors were very pleased as well."
This year, AA Awalts Pay Day 213 was the bull sale high seller at $4,800. He was consigned by AA Acres from Sanger, California and was purchased by the Lucky Seven Ranch in McDermitt, Nevada.
The overall average of bulls sold was $2,850. The Black Angus average was $2,928; the Red Angus average was $2,859; the Charolais average was $2,150. In all, 45 bulls were sold.
The Western Trade Show was open Thursday through Sunday, also at the indoor event center. More than 60 vendors participated.
A highlight of the weekend was the 24th anniversary of the Winnemucca Ranch Hand Rodeo. A Calcutta got things started Saturday morning, March 2, with the rodeo competition following.
This year's rodeo drew 30 four-man/one-woman teams – 24 from outside Humboldt County – whose mission it was to outdo the competition in seven events, including saddle bronc riding, team roping, trailer loading, women’s steer stopping, wild mugging, team branding and ranch doctoring.
Each team competed in all the events; women had to compete in steer stopping and wild mugging.
It was B Bar B Quarter Horses of Elko, Nevada, that walked away with first-prize winnings of $5,513 along with Winnemucca Ranch Hand Rodeo Championship jackets.
Second place went to the Jim Ranch of Owyhee, Nevada, with winnings of $4,253. Third place and a $2,993 purse went to the Mackenzie Ranch of Jordan Valley, Oregon, while fourth place and $1,890 in winnings went to the Three Sevens Ranch of McDermitt, Nevada. This year’s fifth-place winner was the Tanner Ranch of Snowville, Utah, with $1,103 in winnings.
Tim DeLong was the winner of the Calcutta and $5,943 after placing his money on the B Bar B Quarter Horses team. DeLong also bought the second-place Jim Ranch team and earned $4,584.
Ambrose McAuliffe bought the Mackenzie Ranch team and won $3,226, while Chris Bengoa bought the Three Sevens Ranch team, earning $2,037. Lisa Barfuss purchased the Tanner Team and took home $1,189.
Top winners in each event category were awarded silver buckles, while the person who scored the most points overall was named Top Hand. This year’s winner of the John and Dutch Zabala Top Hand Award was Hanes Holman of the first-place B Bar B Quarter Horses team.
Other event winners included:
- Saddle Bronc: Brent Brennan, U Cross Ranch, Score 80
- Team Roping: Jim Ranch, Time: 20:00
- Trailer Loading: Mackenzie Ranch, Time: 17:13
- Women’s Steer Stopping: Melinda McDaniel, Jim Ranch, Time 3.25
- Wild Mugging: Kings River Ranch, Time 56:70
- Team Branding: TL Ranch, Time: 3:48:37
- Ranch Doctoring: N Quarter Circle Ranch, Time: 39:44
Additionally, Louie and Frank Bidart were named the 2013 Ranch Hands of the Year on Saturday, before the competition kicked off.
The weekend drew more than 2,000 people to the Winnemucca Event Center. Petersen said, “It was busy and fun and exciting to see all those people coming into Winnemucca. It was good for them and good for our local community – a win-win all the way around.” 
—From Winnemucca Convention and Visitors Authority news release
PHOTO
The Winnemucca Ranch Hand Rodeo Championship went to B Bar B Quarter Horses of Elko, Nevada. Pictured are Marlow Eldridge, Sheree Tibbals, Audrey Eldridge, Jake Telford, Mark Eldridge, Garley Amos, Hanes Holeman, Calcutta winner Tim DeLong and the announcer Pat Stanford in the background. Photo courtesy of Winnemucca Convention and Visitors Authority.
