by Naomi Loomis
WSRRA Association Representative
“2018 Powder River Days (PRD) was better than ever! Twenty nine cowboys tried their hand at 56 broncs from the Burch Rodeo Company. The Fire-Breathing-Dragons were nothing short of spectacular with some riders making awesome rides while others had entertaining buck-offs. Toby and Amy Vineyard handed out beautiful Gist Buckles and a boat load of money to cowboys from many different states.” -Miles Binger
Powder River Days started in 2012 when Toby Vineyard and Paul Van Dyke put a dream into reality. “Paul Van Dyke and I were showing cow horses together and wanted to put on our own cow horse show and decided that if we were hauling cattle into town, we might as well have a muley roping and bronc riding as well,” explains Toby. PRD has evolved and grown from a small one day deal. Through the years they have added the ranch cutting, mens/womens ranch rodeo, bull roping and increased the size of our bronc riding by quite a bit. It is now a 3 day show.
The event paid out over twenty five thousand dollars in cash and prizes, June 9 – 10, 2018. PRD was also a Western States Ranch Rodeo Association sanctioned event with the winner being invited to the 2018 WSRRA National Finals Ranch Rodeo in Winnemucca, Nevada, November 1-4, 2018! PRD Ranch Bronc Riding was also an 8 Seconds Whiskey 200 point Tour Stop!
Powdered River Days is held in Sheridan, Wyoming. Sheridan’s fabled western history and a dramatic mountain vista is a perfect place for a great western event. PRD goals are quite simple and just like the town of Sheridan, they have a lot in common.“I just want to give the working cowboy an opportunity to come to town and show off their horses and their skills. The general public rarely gets to see what good hands these ranch cowboys are so I want to put on an event that showcases these horses and cowboys/cowgirls,” explains Toby.
Putting on an event like this is no small job. It takes a good team to keep it running smoothly. Toby explains, “The logistics that are involved with this event are incredible. We bring 150 yearlings, 50 cow-calf pairs, 11 bulls, 30 roping steers, 15 saddle horses, and 56 broncs into town for it, so I don’t even know how many people to guess are helping. Probably 15 or so. This year we had probably 400 contestants coming from 11 states I believe.” This event takes the help of family as well, Toby’s family is very important to this event. “My wife has always been a huge help behind the scenes and my son Bronc always works hard helping get cattle moved around etc.,” explains Toby.” “I would give all of the credit to the people in the office and crow’s nest,” Toby says.
Maybe the main part of western event such as PRD, is the rodeo stock. The rodeo stock is quite frankly one of the most important aspects of an event and they are not over looked. This year stock contractors for PRD was Little Horn Ranch, Tait and Jenifer Marquiss, Gary Mefford, and Burch Rodeo Company.
Toby explains why he puts on this great event, “Really we don’t get much out of it except the gratitude of people. I also really like getting everyone together at the same time and place. Most of us all know each other but it is rare to get everyone in town at the same time. There is always alot of really good catching up and bs’ing going on!”
The PRD events include: Ranch Cutting, Ranch Horse Competition (including a youth class), Western States Ranch Rodeo Association sanctioned Mens & Womens Ranch Rodeo, WSRRA Ranch Bronc Riding, Indian Relay Races, Team Tying, Bull Roping and Muley Roping. “We have been sanctioned with the WSRRA for 4 year,” Toby says.
The western tradition of ranch rodeo lives on thru PRD events. They have events for every member of the family; youth ranch horse class, women’s ranch rodeo and then all of the other events are open to anyone.
“I was really excited to be able to bring the bull roping back this year. It is always good watching. The pen of broncs that came into town this year was the best pen I have ever seen anywhere. They were rank! And of course the Indian relay races are always good watching.” –Toby Vineyard, PRD Producer
Toby explains that he wants to keep up this tradition. “I just want to keep it a great place for cowboys to come enter. I try my best to make it as authentic to real work situations as possible. If we can keep it up I also want my bronc riding to be the biggest and best ranch bronc riding in the country. I think we are right there already but I am going to keep trying to grow the bronc riding.”
When asked about keeping this event going, Toby explains, “every year I say I am done with it and then people tell me how much they enjoyed it and how great it was. Several people tell me it is their favorite weekend of the year. As long as we can keep our sponsors and keep getting the money in, I will keep doing it because I think it is important to have events like this instead of just regular rodeos. I feel it is important to keep these traditions alive and well.”
I have no doubts that we will see PRD in 2019! Congratulations to the 2018 PRD Champions: Women’s Ranch Rodeo Champions-Dry Head Ranch. Men’s Ranch Rodeo Champion-Flat Iron. Ranch Bronc Champion: Josh McQuire
“It’s a great event. It’s not a drawing contest. Those horses are strong and rank.” –Chris Laucomer
