| BROKEN ARROW ROUND-UP CLUB |
| History |
The Broken Arrow Round-Up Club was founded in 1956 by Isom “Smitty”
Smith, Ned Sanders, Calvin McAnally, Ernest Pearce and R. B. Goodson. The
five of them were just sitting around one day at Smitty’s Western Store and
decided to start a RUC. According to Smitty, they started it and it just “growed
like topsy.” Everybody pitched in and worked together to build an arena. Ernest
and Florence Pearce had two daughters that liked to ride, so he donated the use of
five acres they owned around 91st & Lynn Lane as the site for the RUC.
Smitty said everyone was real easy to get along and work with in those days.
They started having rodeos, ropings, horseshows and cutting shows back then and
quite frankly we have not changed much since then. We are still doing the same
thing today with the addition of barrel racings and team pennings.
Bob Gainer, a native of Broken Arrow, announced his first rodeo in Broken
Arrow and went on to announce at some of the rodeo finals. His wife, Dee, used
to sit on the floor and take entries and pay the cowboys off. His son, Bud, was the
rodeo clown and bullfighter and was very highly thought of in Broken Arrow. Bud
lost his life in Vietnam and the Broken Arrow Round-Up Club held a Memorial
Rodeo in his honor for some 12 years after that. Each year, the RUC donated its
portion of the proceeds from the gate to some charitable organization.
Smitty, a charter member of the Broken Arrow Round-Up Club, served as the
Club’s first Treasurer for six years under R. B. Goodson who served as President.
We still operate the RUC as a non-profit organization under virtually the same set
of by-laws that were drawn up by our founding fathers. Our by-laws describe us
as a riding and roping club with the goal of teaching all people to ride and rope for
their enjoyment.
Our membership over the years has fluctuated from 50 to 150 member families.
We hold monthly family playdays that are well attended. Both the children and
their parents come and compete in four events. We accumulate points on each
person and at the end of the year we have an Awards Banquet where we pass out
buckles to our hi-point winners and various other prizes to our other participants.
It’s amazing to see how much the youth improve their riding skills over the
playday season.
We’ve also held riding, roping, barrel racing and team penning clinics. These
clinics cover something for the beginner as well as the advanced rider. We are
especially interested in teaching the children how to ride safely and correctly. We
trail ride with our horses and participate in local parades.
Our Club plays an integral part in the Rooster Days celebration with a rodeo which
is held each year in Broken Arrow the 3rd weekend in May. This year’s 2007
Rooster Days Rodeo marked our 49th annual event. Our rodeo is one of the
largest local rodeos in this part of Oklahoma with thousands of people in
attendance. It has been praised by locals and out-of-towners alike as second to
none, and just seems to grow bigger and better every year. Rice Rodeo Company
of Beggs, OK has been providing quality stock for the rodeo for over 30 years.
We sponsor a Queen, Princess and Sweetheart contest during the rodeo each year
and our Queen from a few years ago, Georgianne Abdo, came away from the
International Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City with the highest of honors — the title
of Miss Rodeo USA for the 2002 calendar year. Two other former Queens of the
BARUC, Vinessa Perry and Allison Campbell, went on to win the Miss Rodeo
Oklahoma title in 2000 and 2005, respectively. Former Princess, Dani Biadasz,
went on to win Miss Rodeo Oklahoma Teen 2004. Our reigning 2007 Princess is
Kaleigh Bauer and Sweetheart is Chesney Grimes.
The sport of rodeo has become so competitive that if the team ropers can’t do
their thing is 6 seconds or less, they often won’t place in the money. The good
bulldoggers will lay a steer down in under 4 seconds; and the barrel racers
complete their cloverleaf patterns in 16 to 18 seconds depending on the size of the
pattern. Oklahoma is “cowboy and horse country” and many of our fellow
statesmen/women are veterans of the pro-rodeo circuit.
We’ve held horseshows at our arena where a nice saddle was given away to the hi-
point person of the day. We’ve hosted cutting shows which lasted 10 hours or
more and where some of the most expensive horses that will ever grace our arena
competed. It was quite a thrill to us to watch those fine horses work. Most all
events we hold at the Club are free to the public or very modestly priced.
Our arena is located ½ mile south of Highway 51 on Oneta Road, across the street
from the Elks Lodge. We have been at our present location for about 15 years.
Bill Hash,member and former Bareback Bronc IPRA, ACRA and MSRA
champion, was the last cowboy to buck out at our old arena location and the first
cowboy to buck out at our new arena.
Our current President is Lee Kannady, Vice President Danny Scroggins, Secretary
Greg Stromme, Treasurer Amelie Stiles, Arena Director Bill Davis, Acting Youth
Director Carrie Guerrero, Acting Concession Director Cristina Igert, Sargeant-at-
Arms Denise Dugdale, Parade Marshal Jim Crotts and Publicity Director Sandi
Owen. For more information on the Club or any of its activities, call 918/258-
3079.
Smith, Ned Sanders, Calvin McAnally, Ernest Pearce and R. B. Goodson. The
five of them were just sitting around one day at Smitty’s Western Store and
decided to start a RUC. According to Smitty, they started it and it just “growed
like topsy.” Everybody pitched in and worked together to build an arena. Ernest
and Florence Pearce had two daughters that liked to ride, so he donated the use of
five acres they owned around 91st & Lynn Lane as the site for the RUC.
Smitty said everyone was real easy to get along and work with in those days.
They started having rodeos, ropings, horseshows and cutting shows back then and
quite frankly we have not changed much since then. We are still doing the same
thing today with the addition of barrel racings and team pennings.
Bob Gainer, a native of Broken Arrow, announced his first rodeo in Broken
Arrow and went on to announce at some of the rodeo finals. His wife, Dee, used
to sit on the floor and take entries and pay the cowboys off. His son, Bud, was the
rodeo clown and bullfighter and was very highly thought of in Broken Arrow. Bud
lost his life in Vietnam and the Broken Arrow Round-Up Club held a Memorial
Rodeo in his honor for some 12 years after that. Each year, the RUC donated its
portion of the proceeds from the gate to some charitable organization.
Smitty, a charter member of the Broken Arrow Round-Up Club, served as the
Club’s first Treasurer for six years under R. B. Goodson who served as President.
We still operate the RUC as a non-profit organization under virtually the same set
of by-laws that were drawn up by our founding fathers. Our by-laws describe us
as a riding and roping club with the goal of teaching all people to ride and rope for
their enjoyment.
Our membership over the years has fluctuated from 50 to 150 member families.
We hold monthly family playdays that are well attended. Both the children and
their parents come and compete in four events. We accumulate points on each
person and at the end of the year we have an Awards Banquet where we pass out
buckles to our hi-point winners and various other prizes to our other participants.
It’s amazing to see how much the youth improve their riding skills over the
playday season.
We’ve also held riding, roping, barrel racing and team penning clinics. These
clinics cover something for the beginner as well as the advanced rider. We are
especially interested in teaching the children how to ride safely and correctly. We
trail ride with our horses and participate in local parades.
Our Club plays an integral part in the Rooster Days celebration with a rodeo which
is held each year in Broken Arrow the 3rd weekend in May. This year’s 2007
Rooster Days Rodeo marked our 49th annual event. Our rodeo is one of the
largest local rodeos in this part of Oklahoma with thousands of people in
attendance. It has been praised by locals and out-of-towners alike as second to
none, and just seems to grow bigger and better every year. Rice Rodeo Company
of Beggs, OK has been providing quality stock for the rodeo for over 30 years.
We sponsor a Queen, Princess and Sweetheart contest during the rodeo each year
and our Queen from a few years ago, Georgianne Abdo, came away from the
International Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City with the highest of honors — the title
of Miss Rodeo USA for the 2002 calendar year. Two other former Queens of the
BARUC, Vinessa Perry and Allison Campbell, went on to win the Miss Rodeo
Oklahoma title in 2000 and 2005, respectively. Former Princess, Dani Biadasz,
went on to win Miss Rodeo Oklahoma Teen 2004. Our reigning 2007 Princess is
Kaleigh Bauer and Sweetheart is Chesney Grimes.
The sport of rodeo has become so competitive that if the team ropers can’t do
their thing is 6 seconds or less, they often won’t place in the money. The good
bulldoggers will lay a steer down in under 4 seconds; and the barrel racers
complete their cloverleaf patterns in 16 to 18 seconds depending on the size of the
pattern. Oklahoma is “cowboy and horse country” and many of our fellow
statesmen/women are veterans of the pro-rodeo circuit.
We’ve held horseshows at our arena where a nice saddle was given away to the hi-
point person of the day. We’ve hosted cutting shows which lasted 10 hours or
more and where some of the most expensive horses that will ever grace our arena
competed. It was quite a thrill to us to watch those fine horses work. Most all
events we hold at the Club are free to the public or very modestly priced.
Our arena is located ½ mile south of Highway 51 on Oneta Road, across the street
from the Elks Lodge. We have been at our present location for about 15 years.
Bill Hash,member and former Bareback Bronc IPRA, ACRA and MSRA
champion, was the last cowboy to buck out at our old arena location and the first
cowboy to buck out at our new arena.
Our current President is Lee Kannady, Vice President Danny Scroggins, Secretary
Greg Stromme, Treasurer Amelie Stiles, Arena Director Bill Davis, Acting Youth
Director Carrie Guerrero, Acting Concession Director Cristina Igert, Sargeant-at-
Arms Denise Dugdale, Parade Marshal Jim Crotts and Publicity Director Sandi
Owen. For more information on the Club or any of its activities, call 918/258-
3079.
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