Ernest Tooke Memorial Match Bronc Ride

There's a lot of noise outside a rodeo chute, but it's a TV playing in the other room, muffled and nonsensical unless you've seen this Eastwood flick before. The chute is tight; the rider and horse intimate, but it's not designed to last. A calm horse is easy to straddle but maybe she's playing coy. There's a faint lull in the other room; the yellow flag is up, the gate man has his rope and the rider leans back and, if he's going to win, makes the only decision he'll get for the next eight seconds: the nod.

Seventeen match bronc riders, 10 ranch bronc riders and three youth steer riders gave the nod Sunday during The Ernest Tooke Memorial Match Bronc Ride in Ekalaka. The event was put on by C&T Rodeo.

Before the start of the riding, a moment of silence was held in honor of Ernie Tooke, who passed away in April. A pair of his horses trotted around the arena during the national anthem and Peggy Tooke, his wife of 61 years, sat in the grandstands.

At the age of 22, Ernie Tooke became the youngest person to obtain a dual PRCA card as a contestant and stock contractor. When he was through competing, he joined his father, Feek Tooke, in putting on rodeos and raising world famous bucking horses. The Tooke family and the bucking horses star in the upcoming documentary, "Feek's Vision," directed by Ken Howie and set to show in December.

On Sunday, the horses were the stars of the show. "The bucking horses are better than ever," Mac Tooke, the 'T' in C&T Rodeo, said. He and Bill Carlisle have been putting on C&T Rodeo's for over eight years.

Tooke said the hardest part of putting on a rodeo is soliciting the donations to make up the prize purses. The community in Ekalaka, he said, is very supportive and just what a rodeo needs to keep running every year.

An addition to this year's ride was rodeo clown Jesse Larson. Larson has been entertaining at rodeos ever since a clown didn't show at an event in Duluth, Minnesota 11 years ago. After his third season, when he did four shows, Larson invested in the job. He and his fiancée, Angelica, are traveling for 54 performances this season. This was their first time in Ekalaka.

Larson bantered with announcer Les Kreitel between riders, told jokes and performed skits. He drove out his red biplane and declared it flight worthy: The carburetor was carbin', the crankshaft was crankin' and the piston was - functioning.

During an intermission, Larson entertained the crowd with a lion tamer skit. He set a wooden box in the arena with "Big Cat" written on its door and, after sliding open the door, he faced down a crazed beast that nearly savaged his ankles. Larson narrowly escaped the small dog by climbing on top of a six-inch stool.

Rain fluctuated throughout the day. During the heaviest durations, raincoats covered saddles and livestock trailers were full of cowboys checking the radar on their phones, sipping beer and staying dry. The arena was covered by a layer of mud that softened bucked riders' landings and delayed physical regrets for 24 hours.

T.J. Strub was one of three pick-up riders for the day. If a rider is thrown, the pick-up men swoop in to herd the bucking horse away and out of the arena. Joe Blankenship and Tim Stevenson worked with Strub.

If the rider makes eight seconds, the pick-up men come alongside the bucking horse and the rider dismounts by holding onto the pick-up's waist or saddle. Strub said riders should avoid using the fence. "It may look appealing," he said, "but it's better to get off in the middle of the arena."

Match bronc rider Klay Gray had only been competing for two months. He keeps tally marks on his saddle with the number of rides he's taken. Today was tally 11. The riding is addictive, he said. His motto is "keep on going."

Gray was bucked in the the first round of the contest. As he walked to his truck he said, "Just keep on going."

Judges Monte "Hawkeye" Henson and Bob Johnson judged Sunday's rides. The judges used a 25 point scale to rate both the rider and the horse separately. For example, the first judge may rate the horse 14 and the rider 16 and the second may rate the horse 18 and the rider 16. These four scores would be combined for a total of 64 out of 100 possible points. The highest scoring average wins.

Taylen Nelson won the match bronc ride. Connor Murnion placed second, Josh Davison third, Andrew Evjene fourth and Will Bagley came in fifth.

In the ranch bronc ride cowboys are allowed to use both hands. Ekalakan Jordan Meyer won, Sterling Brown placed second and Cody Murnion and Derik Sinks tied for third.

Three young steer riders busted out of the chute Sunday. Tucker Tooke won, but each cowboy received a cheer from the crowd after their ride.

A few young cowboys were eager to employ their cumulative 15 years of saddle time to help the man with 15 minutes worth: me. One cowboy, concerned about the length of my stirrups, asked if it felt right. I slipped my foot into the stirrup the wrong way and said, "feels fine."

It had been 25 years since my only time on a horse - a pony led by a bored teenager. It bucked me off. So, in the chute, the TV static faded, I nodded, the gate opened and that tradition continued.