Very important rodeo-goers were able to pay a little extra for seats in the VIP buildings constructed for this year's Chief Joseph Days Rodeo by the Grand Marshals Max Prout, his brother Gary and Gary’s wife, Karen. The VIP buildings had television screens because they couldn't view the big screen to the right of them.

JOSEPH — He did it again — for the fifth time, Derek Kolbaba took home the bull-riding belt buckle for another spectacular Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association performance at the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo, on Saturday, July 29.

Kolbaba, who lived in Joseph as a child before moving to Walla Walla, Washington, still has deep ties to Joseph and the CJD Rodeo. On Saturday, he rode Lap Dance for the full eight seconds, earning 86 points. He was the only rider to stay aboard the full eight seconds among the five competing Saturday night.

He even seemed a bit amazed at his own performance.

“I don’t know what it is about this place, but I seem to be able to pull something together,” he said after his ride.

When Kolbaba arrived for last year’s CJD, he was still recovering from getting stepped on by a bull in Cheyenne, Wyoming. But he recovered sufficiently to compete — and win — last year.

Local ties

Although he lives in Washington state, his ties to Joseph and Chief Joseph Days run deep. His great-grandfather was Harley Tucker, the founder of CJD in 1946. His grandmother, Darlene Turner, still lives here, as do many other aunts, uncles and cousins.

“I’ve got lots of family ties here,” he said.

At 27, he has no plans to hang up his spurs yet.

“I will keep riding bulls not until I can’t but hopefully until I don’t want to anymore,” he said. “It’s a young man’s game and I feel like I’m just getting to my prime.”

He estimated as he was dusting himself off that he earned about $4,000 with his eight-second ride. But the final money amount he was awarded came to $3,163.20.

Still, not bad for eight seconds work.

“I’ll take it,” he said.

Next up for Kolbaba is a trip to the Midwest for a Professional Bull Riders competition in Kansas City, Missouri.

“I’ll keep pushing and keep working at it,” he said.

Other winnersIn the saddle bronc competition, Jake Clark from Crane won with a ride on Big Block for a total score of 82.5 and a payout of $2,319.06.

In bareback riding, Jacob Lees of Caldwell, Idaho, won with a ride on High Roller for a score of 84 and a payout of $2,405.46.

In tie-down, Rial Englehart of Lakeview won with 18.5 points for a total payout of $2,399.82.

In steer wrestling, Dakota Eldredge of Elko, Nevada, won with 8.0 for a payout of $1,334.25.

In team roping, brothers Clayton Hansen of Weiser, Idaho, and Chase Hansen of Homedale, Idaho, won with 12.5 points for a payout of $2,107.95.

In steer roping, Cooper Mills of St. John, Washington, won with 26.9 points for a payout of $1,290.93.

In breakaway, Mattie Turner of Wilsonville won with 2.5 seconds for a total payout of $2,744.80.

In barrel racing, Rachelle Riggers of Lewiston, Idaho, won with a time of 17.21 seconds for a total payout of $816.67.

The above scores are considered estimates until verified by the PRCA, according to the website https://rodeodraw.com/. See the website for complete results.

Special honors

The rodeo itself was awarded Columbia River Circuit Medium Rodeo of the Year for 2022.

The Harley Tucker Memorial Award went to steer wrestler Ringo Robinson, from Idaho. This award combines scores from four regional rodeos — the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show, the Elgin Stampede, the St. Paul Rodeo and Chief Joseph Days.

Each night of the rodeo saw special honorees in the county singled out for recognition. On Wednesday night, it was farmers and ranchers, with FFA teens coming out into the arena, and special recognition of Perry Johnston, a local rancher.

On Thursday night, it was health care, with health care workers from multiple health care entities coming out into the arena on the Tough Enough to Wear Pink night for breast cancer awareness. Retiring Wallowa Memorial Hospital CEO Larry Davy received special recognition for his years of service.

On Friday night it was first-responders who earned recognition.

Saturday night was the time to honor veterans and the military, with Skip Novakovich receiving special recognition for his years of service to the country and the communities where he has lived.