Sheyenne Stampede draws crowds

On Saturday, Aug. 20, Sheyenne, N.D. became the destination for hundreds of rodeo enthusiasts and concert goers for the annual Sheyenne Stampede.

Those who spent Saturday at Hendrickson Park enjoyed a jam-packed day of events, ranging from high-stakes barrel racing to a concert by platinum country music band, Little Texas.

The day began with a Miss Sheyenne Stampede Horsemanship competition between Riley Widman of Buchanan and Bailey Hawn of Devils Lake. Widman took the honor and was crowned 2023 Miss Sheyenne Stampede.

Up next was barrel racing, where contestants and their horses teamed up to race around the arena and maneuver around barrels in the timed event.

Sheyenne Rodeo Club member, Brent Helseth, said 54 contestants competed in barrel racing, around double the number that competed last year. When the dust settled, Allie Ness of Thompson, N.D., was named the 2022 Sheyenne Stampede Champion Barrel Racer.

Soon after, teams of four took to the arena for the 2022 Championship Ranch Rodeo. The teams had to best each other in five separate events: wild cow milking, steer mugging, range doctoring, trailer loading and trailer relay.

Taking the top prize and the champion belt buckle were the In-laws & Outlaws, a team composed of Lacey Grann, Logan Olson, Hayes Lemieux and Brooklyn Vollmer. Their victory was narrow, as they beat Vegan Horse Company and Bargmann Ranch, who tied for second and third, by just one point.

With nine teams total, Helseth said the ranch rodeo also saw twice as many teams competing as last year. Bryce Vigen of the Vegan Horse Company was awarded Top Ranch Horse.

As the sun began setting, musical performances from Ryan Loweree and the Mikele Buck Band entertained audiences, before multi-platinum recording artists, Little Texas, took the stage and sang some of their greatest hits.

Their first song Saturday night was "Some Guys Have All the Love," the first single they ever released in 1991, which charted at No. 8 of Hot Country Songs and kickstarted a decades-long career of award-winning country music.

The night ended with a beer garden party sponsored by Topp Angus, featuring live music from the Ryan Keplin Band.

It was another successful Sheyenne Stampede, made possible by sponsors and volunteers that brought the event to life.

"Thank you to all who came and enjoyed another great Sheyenne Stampede," read a post on the Stampede's Facebook page. "Please say thank you to the committee of volunteers that did every aspect of the event to bring enjoyment to Sheyenne, North Dakota."

Premier sponsors for this year's Sheyenne Stampede were Bessette Motors and New Rockford Eagles Club.

Helseth said this year's event went well, and that he's already looking forward to next year's stampede.

Pictures from the Sheyenne Stampede, including from barrel racing and the ranch rodeo, can be found at transcript.smugmug.com, where they're available for anyone to purchase. See more about the Transcript's new smugmug site on page A7.