MONTE VISTA—The Seventh Annual Spring in the Valley Rodeo Series is underway at Ski Hi Park. The series is conducted by Burris and Sons Bucking Bulls and includes four weeks of rodeos, every Sunday from April 30 through May 21, beginning at 2 p.m. each Sunday.

Tickets are $5 with children age 6 and under admitted for free.

The attendees to last Sunday’s rodeo were not dissuaded by the windy, chilly conditions and cheered on participants in several different events including open bull riding, novice bull riding, junior bull riding, steer riding, calf riding, mutton busting, ribbon roping, team roping, junior barrel racing and open barrel racing, as well as a calf chase and a sheep chase for the youngest participants in between events. 

Open bull riding participants included Cornell Curtis, Trevell Smittel, Randy Rogers, Cordell Curtis and Mackenzie Monter. None of the participants made it for eight seconds scored and will have their entries applied for twice the prize money next week.

Novice bull riders, ages 15-19, included riders from distant locations like Larkspur, Castle Rock, Ignacio and Durango as well as locals. Riders included Connor Robins, Ty Walker, Hunter Robins, Randy Rogers, Gabriel Zimmerman, Trent Ward and Wyatt Noe, who had the only qualified ride, scoring 65 points. 

Junior bull riders were required to stay on the bull for six seconds and had many more qualified riders. Cooper McClain of Cortez won after earning 72 points; Sam Laske earned 67 points; Luke Walker did not qualify at 5.1 seconds, and Mike Spencer earned 70 points.

Steer riders included Tyler Chapman, Ryan Booth, Israel Montoya, Freddy Murphy, Gavin Langford, Dalton Baker and Kendrick Martin, among others. Israel Montoya of New Mexico won this event with 70 points.

Chase Bouet of Saguache won the calf riding competition with a time of 3.85 seconds.

Mutton busting was a crowd favorite, with Duran Tsosie of New Mexico victoriously waving to and dancing for the crowd after scoring 90 points. Tsosie earned 88 points.

Garret Sandoval won the sheep chase and Jack Thompson won the calf wrangler competition. Both required children under age 6 to race to take a ribbon off of a sheep‘s tail and a calf’s tail; both animals were not eager to be caught.

The ribbon roping event, which required one participant to be under 15 years old, was won by Taten Koenig and Trenton Koenig of Sanford with a time of 29.29 seconds. The Koenigs went on to dominate the team roping event as well. That competition was won by Grant Koenig and Taten Koenig of Sanford with a time of 9.47 seconds, followed by the teams of Dave Yost and Taten Koenig with a time of 11.47 seconds and Grant Koenig and Trenton Koenig with a time of 17.93 seconds.

Junior barrel racers included Karley Deherrera with a time of 24.96 seconds, Gavin Langford with a time of 22.561 seconds, Jace DeHerrera with a time of 27.45 seconds, Tory Hill and Lila Gutierrez. Langford won that event.

Trish Mackie on two different horses took first and second in open barrel racing, with 18.366 and 19.040 seconds. Jennifer Edwards was the third fastest with 19.36 seconds. Other participants included Cody Hansen with 23.87 seconds, Jordan Laske with 19.77 seconds, Samantha Caprizine with 23.35 seconds, Katie Litt with 24.00 seconds and Amanda Knorr.

The weekly awards show will be every Sunday at 7 p.m. at Dos Rios Restaurant in Monte Vista.

For more information see www.burrisandsonsbuckingbulls.com/rodeo-series/spring-valley-rodeo-monte-vista-colorado