White Earth Rodeo Held
The 69th annual rodeo returned to the White Earth Valley last weekend as the White Earth Valley Saddle Club held their rodeo from June 12 through 14.
Events started on Friday, June 12 with the 19th Annual Queen Pageant. Allison Koble was crowned the new Junior Miss and Hailey Ozuna was crowned the new Little Miss. Also competing in the Little Miss category were Scout Hilliard, Elizabeth Wolter, and Ashlyn Woodbury. This year’s Sweethearts were Callie Kippen, Lela Moody and Josephine Wilson.
Friday evening also included the Rib Cook-Off and a barrel race.
Saturday started with youth roller dummy team roping and a rodeo performance in the evening. Following the performance it was the return of the shovel race and mutton bustin’. Sunday started in the morning with slack, followed by Cowboy Church and the afternoon performance. The shovel race and calf scramble followed the performance.
This year saw the return of the Women’s Ranch Bronc Rodeo competition as well.
As the performance began on Sunday, a rider accompanied by a horse with an empty saddle paid tribute to those members of the WEVSC that passed in the past year. They honored Steve Feiring, Kent Hanson and Woodrow Sveen.
That was followed with a horse drawn wagon. On that wagon was the last remaining charter member Carl Frisinger and newly ND Cowboy Hall of Fame inductee Wayne Halvorson.
This year’s royalty were part of the opening that included the National Anthem before the contestants took to the arena.
2026 upcoming events at the WEVSC include the Draft Horse Challenge on June 26, a barrel and pole jackpot series, the fall trail ride, the fall draft horse challenge on October 3, fall turkey bingo and the Frigid Fundays series. You can stay up to date on upcoming events through their Facebook page.
Watch next week’s paper for results from the rodeo. They were not available at press time.