Alaska fans tough it out for fair rodeo

That's not unusual, said Charlie Willis, who runs the event. The fair has long hosted the state's biggest annual rodeo.

What brings 'em in?

"The word -- 'rodeo,' " said Willis. "Everyone wants to be a cowboy."

Fans of roping, riding and barrel racing will find upgraded arena fixtures at the fair this year. There are new, shiny black pens, chutes and fencing.

"We used to have to bring everything in from Anchorage, set it up, then take it down," Willis said. "This stuff's going to stay right here."

The workers are old hands, which is a relief for Willis. "I have the same people coming back year after year. I don't have to show them what needs to be done."

And there's a lot going on behind the scene. The animals need to be fed and watered. They need to be cycled smoothly from the chute into the arena and back into the pens -- which is not easy when you're talking about a wild-eyed bronco or a 2,000-pound bull that may have other ideas. It takes cajoling and cooperation.

"It they wanted to break out, there'd be no way to stop them," said Willis, pointing to the bulls.

Fortunately, they seem to understand that this is show business and they're the stars.

The bulls, brought from Shirley Cox's Bad Girls Rodeo Company in Ninilchik, were docile enough to pet while off duty. But as soon as they went into the gate and a rider climbed on top of them, the bovine athletes with names like "Black Ice" and "John Wayne" were psyched up to hurl said riders into the stratosphere as quickly as possible.

In most cases, the bull won. Several seemed to take a victory lap around the ring with an sense of smug triumph. Of the 10 bull riders competing Saturday, only three managed to stay on for the requisite eight seconds.

Last year there were zero, recalled Ted Dwyer, the announcer.

Dwyer, from Merced, Calif., a former rodeo clown, calls about 35 rodeos a year. "But it's kinda different here," he said. "Rodeo fits here. It's still the last frontier. Still wild country."

Like rodeos across the U.S., there's a big patriotic component. Willis' daughter Callie opened the event by riding out with the American Flag accompanied by Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" and the recitation of an ode to Old Glory. Horseback flag-bearers representing the different branches of the military and POW/MIAs gave a tribute to men and women in uniform halfway through the show.

Fun bits filled time while the arena was reset for the next event: Trick riding, a dance contest for kids and -- worth the price of admission ($12 for adults, $7 for kids) -- the Calf Scramble in which every pre-teen in the crowd chased a cow from one end of the grounds to the other until one of them pulled a ribbon off its tail. That lucky kid won $50.

But the main attractions were the roping and riding, and there was plenty of both in the three-hour show. Roping seemed to be the trickiest, with all but nine of the 35 entries in events requiring lariat skills getting a "no time," disqualified by missing their throws or running out of time.

When roping is done right, however, it's a thing of speed and grace. Callie Willis won the Ladies Breakaway competition in 4.24 seconds.

For thrill seekers, bronc and bull riding are where the danger lies. Gasps greeted a horse named Al Capone who came flying out of the chute with William Fry bouncing above him. Fry's hat flew off exposing a bald head.

"That horse bucked the hair right off him," quipped Dwyer. But Fry had the last laugh. He won the Bareback competition.

Despite the blustery weather, at least half the crowd stuck it out to see the bulls. Dalton Lewis won the event, riding on Exorcist, with a score of 73, just nipping Stephen Kitson on Get It On, who scored a 72.

Those scores could be eclipsed at 2 p.m. today. The rodeo grounds are located in the France Equestrian Center area right off the Yellow Trail.

"It's good to see they love rodeo up here," said Dwyer. "This is grass roots, how rodeo started years ago."

Also, he added, "You got some pretty good cowboys up here."

Reach Mike Dunham at mdunham@adn.com or 257-4332.