Photos by Liz Wood and Tom Dixon.

Bullfest

Bullriders competed for more than $10,000 in cash prizes Saturday night at the new and improved Saratoga Bullfest.

Saratoga Lions Club member, Bo Alameda and his wife, KayCee, have been working the last several months to bring the top bulls and riders in the nation to Saratoga.

Shane Burris, of the San Luis Valley in Colorado, kept the crowd cheering for the bullriders while they worked to stay on the rank bulls for eight seconds.

The Lions Club reported approximately 620 people went through the gate to witness the bulls and bullriders clash during the two-and-one-half hour show.

The audience witnessed tense moments, especially when the rodeo clown, Rick Erdman, had to jump the fence to avoid one bull and then got his shoe caught in the fence.

Bulls rammed the fences after getting the bullriders off their backs and then wanted no part of going to the back pens.

At this point, the pickup men had to rope the bulls to get them back into the pen.
The bulls, determined to get their punches in, stepped on or hooked several of the bullriders, who were protected by flak jackets, kevlar vests that prevent torso trauma.

Wes Wahlert, of Galeton, Colo., gave the audience a good show earning 88 points on the bull “Smoke This”, of Vernon Hare’s rodeo string.

Wahlert walked away with an extra $4,020 for his efforts.

Coming in second was Chris Newman, of Casper, who garnered $3,015 for his ride on “Who’s Best”.

Third place went to Quinn Hiser, of Glenrock, with a prize of $2,010. Hiser challenged bull number 722, of the Burns Rodeo Company, for the right to take home his winnings.
Curry Fielder, of Cody, took home $1,005 with his fourth place win on bull number 703.

Cowboys who scored during the long round earned a spot in the short round. None of the bullriders lasted eight seconds in the short round against top PBR bulls from Mark Ward and Vernon Hare.

Alameda said, “It was a really good event, I hope everyone enjoyed themselves.”

We had great sponsors and volunteers to help make the bullriding a success.”

Brewfest

The 15th annual Steinley Cup drew over 600 people to Veterans Island Saturday afternoon.
Seven breweries offered up their finest suds in hopes of being crowned best brewery in Wyoming.

This year’s competition was a stout, and Altitude Chophouse and Brewing Company, three-time winners, did not disappoint with their “Expedition Porter”. The Library Brewing Company, four-time winners, were the people’s choice with their “Steamboat Oats, Cream and Stout”.

To complement the brews, nearly 30 chefs turned out to serve up their chili and salsa.
The people honored Margaret Weber, of the Bear Trap, for her red chili. Monkey Angel Studios, from Wheat Ridge, Colo., won people’s choice for their green chili. The people’s favorite salsa was Rendezvous Lodge’s Rayetta Kirkley. The judges also voted her salsa the best, as well as her red chili.

The judges picked Jim Engle’s green chili as the winner.

Bluegrass band High Plains Tradition provided entertainment for the afternoon.