Jon visits the Pendleton Round Up

This is Jon. Last year was my first year to take in the Pendleton Round Up and Brittany and I had press passes for this year, its 100th anniversary. Due to some scheduling mixups, Brittany couldn't make it, but I decided to make the trip Friday morning. I'm glad I did. I missed my co-pilot big time, but I'm glad I got to see a favorite rodeo on its 100th year.

Me, right before the start of the rodeo. I went as press and while I was picking up my press packet and ID, I noticed that the press office was the same as last year: Food, water, Coors, Coors Light (sponsors of Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) and Pendleton Whisky were available in the fridge. They treat their media right!

Pendleton's Grand Entry is small in comparison to Ellensburg's, however, it's pretty powerful. As the start nears, the murmur from the fans in attendance grows into a frenzy and as soon as the clock on the scoreboard in the background hits 1:15 in the afternoon, a huge cannon booms the start of the rodeo. The National Anthem is sung without any introduction or fanfare and the lady who sang on Friday brought down the house. Above is the way the queen and her court arrive in the arena. Their horses jump into the grass arena (which is one of the many things that makes Pendleton so unique) and once all are in (a queen and three princesses) they take a couple of laps around the track and are joined by five men who are holding flags (US, Canada, Pendleton, etc.) Very simple, but very significant.

The one thing I've noticed about Pendleton is the fact that the rodeo truly celebrates it's Indian heritage. Tribes from all over eastern Oregon and eastern Washington are showcased and rightfully so. I snapped this photo for Grandma Guddat.

Pendleton's trademark slogan is "Let 'Er Buck!" which is prevalent throughout the rodeo. The mural to the right is the official seal, if you will, of the rodeo. The Let 'Er Buck room, as the sign would indicate is immediately below the sign. The room is world famous, plenty of illegal and barely legal actions have happened in this setting. There are security guards, alcohol monitors and signage that keeps people relatively calm now, but I'm told that back in the day this room was nuts. There are multiple signs at the entrance and in the place that says "NO PICTURES. ANY PHOTOS WILL BE DELETED FROM PHONES AND CAMERAS ON SITE."

As part of the festivities that come with 100 years, this sculpture was unveiled this year.

A video to somewhat give you an idea as to the size of the rodeo grounds. First of all, Pendleton is known for its grass field which is extremely unique in rodeo. I'm sitting in the old "sun bowl" as it was called for 99 years until the new stands were built after last year that offered covered arena seating. The upgrades cost around $8.5 million and they are fantastic. The view and seats are great, and someone said it was a million-dollar view, to which the Round Up President said, "no, it's an $8.5 million view." The bucking chutes to the left of the video are painted in a rainbow of colors, again typical of Pendleton. They announced about 17,000 fans in attendance. To give you an idea, Ellensburg is a huge rodeo in its own right and sells out at 9,500 or so. The Ellensburg rodeo paid out nearly $315,000 this year, whereas Pendleton paid a tad more than $580,000. Ellensburg will always be my favorite rodeo because it's...well, Ellensburg. But Pendleton will always be a very, very close second.