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Kicking off their 12th season, the Double Bar G rodeo series opened up Friday night with traditional rodeo favorites as well as some new additions.
“The turnout Friday night was absolutely fantastic,” said rodeo director Max Goodwine.
“Lots of people came to watch, the weather was absolutely beautiful and we had contestants from all over,” she added.
Goodwine estimated that nearly 200 rodeo fans passed through the gates Friday night but even that number wasn’t a true indicator of the areana’s temporary population.
“Once you start counting the folks that came with the contestants and others, the turn out was simply amazing,” Goodwine said.
Spanning the tri-state area, contestants came from as far away as Texas to participate in the Pine Bluffs summer tradition.
While the rodeo was full of classic rodeo fare – bull riding, calf-roping, etc. — seeking more youth-oriented offerings, rodeo organizers launched several events targeted at the younger generation.
“These kids doing rodeo today, they’re our future,” said Goodwine,  “and we wanted to make sure they had a place they could compete.”
To that end, the Double Bar G Rodeo added Junior/Senior Team Roping, pee-wee barrels, novice goat tying and other events aimed at the younger generation of cowboys and cowgirls.
“We’re a family running this thing, trying to make it a fun event for other families to come out and participate in or watch,” Goodwine added.
In the opening rodeo of the season, Reata Hoar of Pine Bluffs, took first in the Jr-Sr team roping with a time of 12.1 seconds. Placing second in the event was Javier DeLaCruz of Pine Bluffs, 16.1.
In the novice breakaway, Zane Thompson of Carpenter took first (4.2) followed by Abbea Faris of Laramie, (5.8) in second, and Javier DeLaCruz (6.7) in third.
For novice goat tying, Reata Hoar took top honors at 11.8, Abbea Faris (12.3) was second and Jerrad Lepper of Laramie  (25.9) was third. In the open goat tying was Grover resident Callie Capraro taking first at 14 seconds.
Taking first in the open bullriding was Jack Leiseth of Big Piney (75 pts), Justin Thomas of Cheyenne (73 pts.) in second and in third, Josh Hupp of Cheyenne (72 pts.).
Josh Coope from LaPorte, Colo. earned 76 points in the bareback riding to take first followed by Clint Dana of Burns (73), and tied for third was Josh Hupp and Jed Wilson of Sugar City, Colo. with 67 points.
Cooper also took first in the saddle bronc riding with 72 points and was followed by Yoder, Colo. resident Cody Peterson with 60 points and Britt Jessop of Cahan, Colo. with 52 points.
In the breakaway roping, Bambi Ross of Burns took first with a time of 5.1 seconds as Sadie Cross of Torrington (5.4) took second, Kacy Hatten of Wheatland (12.7) took third and Shannon Vaughan from Lingle (12.8) took fourth.
Benny Mosley of Hudson, Colo. took first in the calf roping at 13.3 seconds and was followed by Tyler Kimmel (14.6) and Troy Kimmel, (15.9) both of Stoneham, Colo. Tying for third was Travis Wilson of Cheyenne.
In the team roping event, Jason Devore of Fort Lupton, Colo. and Jeremy Clay from Stevenville, Texas took top honors with a time of 5.3 seconds and were followed by A.J. Franzen and D.J. Tidyman (5.4) both from Carpenter and Chase Hollingworth and Justin Smith, (5.4), also both of Carpenter.
In the mixed team roping, Ross and Franzen took first with a 9.0 time while Bobbi and Scott Butcher (9.6) of Jelm took second and Samantha and Stuart Hoar (11.1) of Pine Bluffs finished third.
For barrel racing, Audrey Decker of Brush, Colo., used a 16.043 time to place first in the 1D Barrels, Jessica Sowards from Burns (17.045) took first in the 2D barrels and Jeanne Thomas of Carpenter (18.983) took the top spot in the 3D barrels.
Due to the Goodwine’s participation in the Elizabeth Stampede Rodeo in Elizabeth, Colo., rodeo in Pine Bluffs will not be held this coming Friday but resumes Friday, June 12.
In addition to the June 5 date, the rodeo is scheduled to take a break July 3 in recognition of the Fourth of July holiday.
“The Fourth is Cowboy Christmas, with rodeos all over the state, “ said Goodwine, “so we traditionally don’t schedule a rodeo for that weekend.”