Perfect Start


8/10/2006 - Ideal Weather Welcomes Contestants, Fans On Opening NightGERRY — Perfect weather, a record number of contestants, and a near capacity crowd got the Gerry Fire Department’s 62nd annual PRCA Rodeo off to a great start Wednesday night. The Barnes Rodeo bucking horses proved too tough for the cowboys as the bareback bronc event had only one qualified ride, an 81-point performance by Jake Gee of Pardeeville, Wis. Again only one saddle bronc was ridden with Bill Lewis from Elizabeth, Colo., scoring 73 points to take the lead in that event. The tie-down roping competition found Shawn Quinn, Schuylerville taking first place with a time of 11.3 seconds while Carmine Nostri from Ballston Spa, Pa., was close behind at 11.5. Seven-time First Frontier Circuit champion Troy Reynolds, Hudson Falls placed third at 12.4 The new event in this year’s rodeo, team roping, found two New Jersey cowboys, Brian Fratteroti from Newfield and Steve Dyer of Franklinville, taking the opening-night lead with a time of 10.3. Rodney Hayes, ‘‘The Texas Kid,’’ provided the fans with one of the most outstanding special acts ever presented in Gerry with his 2,000-pound Brazilian Gir bull named ‘‘Billy The Kid.’’ Hayes has trained the bull to be ridden like a horse while it performs numerous tricks such as bowing, rolling over and jumping through a fiery hoop. Hayes is assisted by two young riders, 9 and 11 years old, who are mounted on ponies and balance on the end of a teeter-totter with the bull on the other end. The girls’ barrel racing provided the closest competition of the night as 10 participants fought for first place with only six-10ths of a second separating the first three places. Laura Bernardo, Clearspring, Md., was first at 16.21, Sarah Rowe from Salem, Ohio, was timed at 16.22 while Beth Ann Borowy of Upperco, Md., was third at 16.27.The steers had the upper hand in the steer wrestling as seven cowboys competed with only one having a successful outing. Bob Sklodowsky from Washington, N.J., threw his steer in a slow 14.2, leaving a big opening for the other cowboys later in the week. In the ever-dangerous bull riding, six cowboys bit the dust with only Sean Kampmeier from Woodbury, N.J., making a successful ride for 71 points on a bull named Purple Rain. The popular calf scramble and mutton bustin’ for the kids was again a crowd pleaser. A small Jamestown girl, Phoenix Carvella, rode her sheep to a win in the mutton bustin’. The Gerry Rodeo, the longest running rodeo east of the Mississippi, continues each night at 8 through Saturday with afternoon performances at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Barbeque beef dinners are served nightly starting at 5 p.m. and at noon on Saturday and Sunday. Additional information is available at the rodeo website http://www.gerryrodeo.org/ or by calling 985-4847 or 985-5754.


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