Bushyhead rodeo event moving away from Route 66

The Bushyhead Pasture Roping and Barrel Race, long presided over by rodeo legend Clem McSpadden, is moving away from the Route 66 hamlet of Bushyhead, Okla., to Bristow, Okla., and away from the Mother Road, reported the Pryor (Okla.) Daily Times.

The longtime event on Route 66 between Chelsea and Claremore, Okla., went on a hiatus in 2009 after McSpadden died in July 2008. The Bushyhead event started on McSpadden’s property in the mid-1980s, and became a delight for locals and foreign Route 66 travelers alike.

The Labor Day Pasture Roping and Barrel Race event will be at the Brewster Ranch Arena, about 10 miles southeast of Bristow and away from Route 66. But the Brewster Ranch pledged to keep many of McSpadden’s traditions going:

Clem’s 101-foot score will still be there. The barrel race will still be an endurance test. And it will still be a Labor Day happening.

When Clem brought the pasture roping to his ranch a quarter-century ago, having seen a similar competition in Texas, he went the Lone Star state one foot better on the score, or starting point from which the steer takes off away from the roping team.

Clem always liked that extra foot.

And, he took pride in the barrel race, run in an open pasture with the third barrel being a pond dam.

The Brewster Ranch in Creek County promises a similar pattern, producing more than a traditional barrel race … a true test of stamina for horse and rider.

Salley has expanded the scope of the pasture ropin’ extravaganza, bringing in a World Series Team Roping event to the indoor arena, an AQHA trail ride and a trade show.

The event will be Sept. 4-6. Part of the proceeds will go to the Clem McSpadden OSU Animal Science Endowment Fund.

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