Organizers increase seating, add announcer and local dollars to shows
GOODING, Idaho – Over the years, organizers of the Gooding Pro Rodeo presented by Idaho Ford Dealers have made quite a statement about producing something special.
Those same folks are amping it up starting this year with the centennial celebration of the Gooding County Fair and Rodeo. There are multiple layers to that, which has become a known byproduct of this annual community event that features great fanfare.
“I think a lot of the new things we’re doing are things we need to do to make sure we’re always a the top of our game,” said Don Gill, manager of the fair and rodeo, which is set for Thursday, Aug. 14-Saturday, Aug. 16, with a special “Beauty and the Beast” performance set for Wednesday, Aug. 13; all performances take place at 8 p.m. at Andy James Arena. “We’ve added 125 new seats on the northwest corner of our arena, and we’re adding that I call a ‘party deck’ just below that. It’s going to seat 16 people, and we’ll have an auction for who sits in that section for each night of the rodeo.
“It’s an oversized (seating area) that we’re just putting in because we have groups that want to get box seats that can’t because we’ve sold our existing box seats out for so long. This is a way to give a company a chance to bring whoever they want to enjoy the rodeo that way.”
It’s a significant change and an opportunity to meet the high demand that comes with the Gooding Pro Rodeo, but it’s not the only addition to the experience. For the first time ever, the event will include another announcer to join forces with longtime emcee Steve Kenyon. Gill will bring in Garrett Yerigan, a two-time PRCA Announcer of the Year.
“Last fall before I ever talked to Garrett, Steve and I visited about it,” Gill said. “Steve’s done a great job for us for years, but our rodeo has gotten to the point where it’s a lot to ask of him. My little brother, Jon, is involved with the rodeo in Hermiston (Oregon), and he wanted to bring in something different to their tailgate show, so they had Steve come last year. When I heard them together in Hermiston, the two of them are far better than I have ever heard.
“They work together really well, and I thought it would work great.”
Yerigan – who announces many large events like The American, Cheyenne (Wyoming) Frontier Days and the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo among others – is excited about being part of the mix in Gooding.
“There’s a bit of a sibling rivalry thing between Jon and Don, and they want to rib each other and see who’s got the better rodeo,” said Yerigan, who was raised on rodeo in Oklahoma but now lives in Weatherford, Texas. “Don called me up and said, ‘Hey, I just want to give you a chance to come see which brother you like working for better.’
“I just laughed, but I guess between the two of them, they thought that I would be a good fit at Gooding.”
The combination of Kenyon and Yerigan will provide a different spark to the incredible action Gooding Pro Rodeo has been known for over the last several years.
“In my humble opinion, Garrett Yerigan is, if not the best, one of the three best rodeo announcers in the country right now,” said Kenyon, Gooding’s voice for 24 years. “He’s the youngest guy to ever be honored as Announcer of the Year in the PRCA. He’s just super talented.”
The addition will create a new dynamic, but it’s one Gill and others in the region expect to add more benefits. Yerigan may be new to town this August, but he understands the reputation the local rodeo has on the national stage. There are many reasons the top contestants make their way to Gooding.
The community also has upped the ante on providing even more incentives to cowboys and cowgirls. The “added money,” which is local dollars that are mixed with contestants’ entry fees to make up the purse, has been increased to $18,000 per event and per discipline in team roping. That means the overall added money for Gooding will be $162,000 before opening night begins.
“When you put out a good product year after year and have created something special like that, it’s easy for the community to get behind,” Kenyon said. “We have done a great job of producing a great rodeo. What Don Gill has done with a bunch of crazy ideas that he managed to put together and make work year after year has allowed Gooding to build something the whole town can be proud of.
“That community is proud of that event, and they should be. It’s a great rodeo.”