Broken Spoke Clydesdales will provide special entertainment at the Tarkio Rodeo.
Make plans to attend the Tarkio Rodeo June 11 and 12, 2021, at the Tarkio Rodeo grounds, Hwy. 136 East in Tarkio. Last year’s event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so this year’s rodeo will be one big celebration!
Join the ropers and riders for a great show that will begin at 7:30 p.m. both nights. Mutton bustin’ for ages 6 and under will begin with sign-up at 6:00 p.m. and riding at 6:30 p.m. The Silver Creek Rodeo Company will provide the rodeo livestock and Broken Spoke Clydesdales will also make an appearance.
Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for youth 12 and under, and free for youth preschool-aged and younger. Advanced tickets may be purchased until Friday, June 11, at noon for a discounted price ($8 for youth and $12 for adults) at the Tarkio Avalanche in Tarkio or Atchison County Mail in Rock Port.
Stop by and enjoy watching the cowboys and cowgirls tough it out in the arena for the chance to go home with the big prize! To get to the Tarkio Rodeo grounds, turn south at the intersection of 1st Street and Hwy. 136 on the east side of town (you’ll see the grounds once you turn off the highway).
Bicycle Rodeo
A Bicycle Rodeo will be held Saturday, June 12, from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. in the Farmers State Bank parking lot in Tarkio for kids up to age 14. Bring a bicycle and an adult. Some bicycles will be available to use, if needed.
The event will include bike skills, bike safety education and helmet fitting. Free helmets will be provided to the kids.
Doug Summa Memorial Car Show
The Doug Summa Memorial Car Show will be held in Niedermeyer Park in Tarkio Saturday, June 12. Registration for vehicles will begin at 9:00 a.m. and continue through 12:00 noon and the judging will follow. The Rodeo Parade will begin at 1:00 p.m. and each car show participant will be directed to a line-up position. Trophies for the car show will be presented at the conclusion of the parade in Niedermeyer Park.
Clapp Rodeo Ride
Joy and Kenny Clapp are once again hosting their Rodeo Ride. Riders will ride their horses and mules from their home north of town to the Tarkio Rodeo grounds around 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning, June 12. The Clapps will furnish lunch. The riders will take part in the parade and then return to the Clapps’ home for a potluck supper. There is plenty of room on the property for camping for those who want to come Friday evening and stay Saturday night. All riders and wagons are welcome.
Tarkio Rodeo Parade
The Tarkio Rodeo Parade will begin at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, June 12, on Main Street in Tarkio. Line-up is at Elm and 9th streets. Join the fun – either from the sidelines or right in the thick of things! Everyone is invited!
Broken Spoke Clydesdales
Broken Spoke Clydesdales is a family-owned, six-horse hitch of clydesdales from Winfield, Kansas. They purchased their first team in October of 2011 and currently have 15. Mark and Pennie DeCoudres, their children and their spouses, and five grandchildren all take part in raising and showing the horses at shows and other events all over the country. They normally raise two or three foals per year.
Broken Spoke Clydesdales have been to the American Six Horse Hitch Classic Series finals twice. They have exhibited at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado, for the last five years and will be there in 2022. They have attended the Ram Circuit Finals in Kissimmee, Florida, four times, the world’s oldest rodeo – the Prescott, Arizona, Frontier Days – and for the next four years will be in Reno, Nevada, as well as several other events.
Each horse is driven separately. There is a line from each horse that is laced between each finger of the driver with approximately 45 pounds for pressure from each line. Shoes they wear weigh approximately four pounds apiece. It takes a crew of five people approximately two and one-half hours to roll their manes and tails, harness them and hook them to the wagon. The harness they wear is all leather and made by Shanahan Harness, one of the top harness builders, and a new set of six would cost over $50,000. The hitch wagon they are pulling would cost $40,000 new and weighs around 5,000 pounds. Each horse can pull three times their weight. They eat approximately 40 to 50 pounds of hay and 20 pounds of grain and drink 30 to 40 gallons of water each day. They are 18 hands tall and weigh around a ton apiece.
The wheel horses’ names are Jackson and Brock and they are the horses closest to the wagon. They are the biggest and most powerful horses because they are the ones that pull most of the load. Then the swing horses are Brodie and Bridget and they are the horses in the middle of the hitch. They are slightly smaller than the wheel horses, but still very powerful. The leaders are Divinity and Diesel. They are slightly smaller and are more athletic horses because when you are making turns they need to be quicker due to the fact that they have more area to travel compared to the wheel horses.
Rodeo Clown/Entertainer: Dustin Jenkins
Dustin The Jester Jenkins went to school in Spokane, Missouri, and graduated in 2000. Spokane is a little farm town about 20 to 30 minutes north of Branson, Missouri. Dustin comes from the rodeo background. From his father, Larry Jenkins, and little brother, LJ Jenkins, they all share the cowboy tradition. At the age of 11, he was introduced to the rough stock event called steer riding as well as junior bull riding and fell in love with both. He competed in bull riding, bareback, and saddle bronc for a couple years. At the age of 13, he took an interest in bullfighting because you will always receive a paycheck every time you show up. He started fighting in Billings, Missouri, on Wednesdays. After taking some hard hits and getting ran over too many times, he realized he needed help. In 1998, he went to a bullfighting school that Rex Dunn hosted and gained a great friendship and learned so much about fighting bulls. He fought bulls professionally until 2002, when he was diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic. Once he got out of the hospital, he decided to find something that wasn’t as dangerous as fighting bulls. That’s when he decided to become a rodeo clown/entertainer. Ever since then, he has been traveling from state to state entertaining thousands of fans. “This is what I live for,” he says.
Tarkio Rodeo Queen
Ellen Westhoff, Miss Iowa Rodeo Cowboys Association Queen 2020-2021, will be the 2021 Tarkio Rodeo Queen. Ellen resides in Mount Vernon, Iowa. She graduated from Ankeny, Iowa, High School in 2014 and graduated from Kirkwood Community College in 2017 with a degree in Crop Production Management, as well as a degree in Agriculture Business. Ellen enjoys competing in barrel racing and breakaway roping, as well as competing in cowgirl challenges.
Silver Creek Rodeo Company
Silver Creek Rodeo Company’s heritage runs deep! In fact, it actually goes back as far as 1976 with the creation of the Delayne Long Rodeo Company. For over 25 years, the Long family produced some of the most notable rodeos in Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Missouri, and Iowa and annually provided livestock to several association finals events each year. In 2003, the Delayne Long Rodeo Company was sold to a new owner and the next chapter began.
In 2012, the new owners made the decision to move to the next level and purchased its Professional Rodeo Cow-boys Association (PRCA) stock contracting card and changed the name to Silver Creek Rodeo Company. The company continued to produce 20 different rodeos and bull riding events each year, for a number of different rodeo sanctioning organizations. In addition, Silver Creek Rodeo Company provided livestock for several high profile PRCA rodeos and has had stock featured at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 2013.
In the fall of 2018, Silver Creek Rodeo Company was purchased by Randy Schmutz, a 35-year member of the PRCA as a rodeo announcer. He and his wife, Amber, have been a part of some of the largest rodeo and bull riding productions in the industry! Randy has announced The American (rodeo) in Arlington, Texas, every year since its inception in 2014. He has also announced the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) World Finals eight times, the College National Finals eight times, and five different PRCA Circuit Finals rodeos including the Badlands, Montana, Mountain States and Great Lakes circuit and the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo, for a combined 23 appearances.
In 2019, Silver Creek Rodeo Company had 18 different barebacks, saddle broncs, and bulls selected for the PRCA Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo in Duncan, Oklahoma. In the first go-round, half of the total available prize money in the rough stock events was won on Silver Creek livestock. At the 2019 United Rodeo Association (URA) Year-End Finals, Silver Creek Rodeo Company provided 11 total barebacks, saddle broncs and bulls and received the following honors: Bareback Horse of the Year, Bucking Bull of the Finals, Reserve Saddle Bronc of the Finals, and URA Rodeo of the Year (Osceola, Missouri). Silver Creek Rodeo Company had three bulls featured at the 2019 National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
Although the 2020 rodeo season was decimated by COVID-19, Silver Creek Rodeo Company was able to produce two of its scheduled events and also provided livestock once again to the PRCA Prairie Circuit Finals rodeo. In the bareback riding, Garrett Shadbolt won the first round on Silver Creek’s #X1 My Hero. In the saddle bronc riding, Tyrel Larsen and Clint Lindenfield both split 2/3 place on Silver Creek’s #013X Roller Coaster and #88 Birthday Suit. And Silver Creek’s #7 Plastic Fantastic was the highest marked saddle bronc horse of the round with a 45.5 point judge’s score. But maybe the most exciting news in 2020 was Silver Creek Rodeo Company’s collaboration with the Rockin B Rodeo Company owned by Brady Burningham from Utah.
Now with Brady and Randy together, Silver Creek Rodeo’s bucking horse inventory has tripled in size and has added some of the best bucking horse genetics in the industry to its herd. Not only does Brady bring horse inventory to the table, but also 14 years of invaluable rodeo knowledge and livestock sense. Brady has now taken full responsibility of Silver Creek Rodeo’s livestock management and Randy now focuses on the business and top notch rodeo production.
Two County Dusters Drill Team
The drill team is made up of youth horseback riders anywhere from 4th graders through seniors who work all summer long with their horses to learn the routine. Their performance is a tribute to America and is a sight to see! They will be performing at 7:15 p.m., before the start of the Tarkio Rodeo.
