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Show f ip p r p i SatSunMonTue, July 3-6, 2004 777 Park Record B-3 FROM THE PRESS BOX fl Smlllno Fcco. A Helping Hand. tiaisty:3 era issfctea fsr by Brett Larsen Cruel or not. rodeo offers can't-miss cultural experience xT rrv These people are nuts. What else can be said about folks who willfully, even happily, throw themselves into a closed space with hundreds of pounds of enraged muscle, hide, horn and hooves? Who run the risk of serious bodily injury in the hope of raising a few bucks (OK, a few thousand bucks) before being bucked off themselves? Love or hate theif sport - one that is seen by many as being barbaric and insensitive to the rights of the animals who co-star ; in every performance - people have to admit rodeo riders have got some nerve (and the right amount of insanity to use it). This Fourth of July weekend, the annual Oakley Rodeo is bringing together a huge crowd of these tough guys and gals from all over the West, plus a healthy amount of spectators from every corner of Utah. A regular stop on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys' Association circuit, the Oakley Rodeo is the eastern Summit County equivalent of World Cup skiing or Nordic jumping in Park City. But will many Parkites be heading out to the four-day event, which continues through Monday at the Oakley rodeo grounds? There will undoubtedly be a few, but the vast majority probably proba-bly won't. After all, there's the Cole Sport Mountain Run, the Park City Muckers' annual rugby extrava ganza and fch the Park C i t y Recreation volleyball not to mention the endless for hiking and mountain biking to mmmmmmmmmmmm keep people peo-ple busy over the holiday weekend. week-end. Besides, there's the general differences in backgrounds between the residents of various areas of the county. In Oakley, wild oats might be something one feeds a horse. In Park City, Wild Oats is a perfect place to pick up soy milk, granola and tofu. On top of that, lots of residents may find rodeo repellent, ranking rank-ing somewhere between pro wrestling and cock fighting in the hierarchy of degrading forms of entertainment. . There is, of course, some validity to that concern. Those broncos and bulls don't buck because they've got an itch they can't scratch. No, it's more like the mmmmmmmmmm irritation irrita-tion of having a bucking strap cinched tight around their rib cage. And the calves that streak across the arena before being lassoed, tackled and trussed up? They don't run like carefree dogs chasing Frisbees in the park; handlers shock them with prods until they're so wound up they bolt from their holding pens as soon as the gate swings open. Love or hate their sport - one that is seen by many as being barbaric and insensitive to the rights of the animals who co-star in every performance - people have to admit rodeo riders have got some nerve (and the right amount of insanity to use it). " But all those slightly disturbing details aside, there's no real damage dam-age done to any of the beasts. In fact, rodeo animals are treated extremely well outside of those eight seconds of horror inside the arena. They're well-fed, groomed, stabled and exercised, and most rodeo riders have developed a fond respect for their animals through their lifetime of work together. Beyond that, the sport of rodeo is an American tradition, conjuring images of the Wild West. Attending an event like the Oakley Rodeo is a cultural experience, expe-rience, just like hanging out with bands of Austrians and Swedes at the base of the America's Opening races. And finally, as stated in the beginning, it's hard not to admire the sheer moxie it takes for the riders to climb aboard a raging bull, to chase down and tackle a fleeing calf, or, like the rodeo clowns or pickup riders, to pull fallen cowboys away from kicking kick-ing hooves and swinging horns. Parkites and Summit County residents alike would be nuts to miss it. w PACIFIC REPUBLIC Mortgage Corporation 1790 Sun PocKDrivo Stllto D-103 Pert City, OT 04090 V" V 3S Muckers' big day is one more holiday option Continued from B-1 drinks at Sunday's game aren't free, admission to the match is, giving locals just another option for something to do to celebrate the holiday, Davy says. As for the game itself, it promises prom-ises to be a tough one for the Park City squad. Haggis is one of the top clubs in the West, and was a leading contender for the 2003 national championship. On top of that, the Muckers are struggling this year. No matter what happens, though, Davy says his team is always excited to play Haggis. "Every year, they come up," he says. "I don't even have to call and ask them. I just call and say, 'Same time, same place,' and they say, 'Yep, we're playing.'" The Muckers are coming off a pair qf, lpsseis, in the Ski, Jown tournament in Jackson, Wyo. last weekend. The team fell first to Breckenridge (Colo.) 20-11, and followed up with a 24-14 loss to Vail (Colo.) Both Colorado teams have experienced lineups, while Park City has had trouble getting a consistent set of players out to practice and games, meaning the Muckers generally aren't as well-versed well-versed in the game as their opponents oppo-nents are, Davy says. Still, the fact that the Muckers were able to hang in with both teams over the weekend before collapsing late says a lot for the athleticism and skill of Park City's core group of players, he adds. "It makes us feel good about the future. We've got some really great players," he says. "We just don't have enough for a solid team." -. PHOTO COURTESY OF SYBILL ALLEN Muckers Lucas Marquardt, far left, Matt Davy and Mark De Goldi, far right, accepted a sponsorship this week from Coldwell Banker brokerage, represented by Steve Webber, center, cen-ter, and Tony Miller. :; w ...v.v i v , ifftrnftrmscffi llWmvciTr Mhiid QdUtaUUnnffUmiif -fUtiiirir&sj-' tfv o -isru otitis rsifti I1! Vmimi li'ltfiit limine id mi ) 9" --'6' O -Hd)! efr Fabulous Horse Property 6185 North Star View Drive Lovely ranch style 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath home on 1.52 acres with a 3 stall barn and paddock. Offered at $475,000 Adjacent .76 acre lot with riding arena and paddock available for $100,000 I it.:. "WBS fii tarry f3U ( Pi. wA Penre connection 435 647-6329 moUk 435 647-6331 mobile 800 641-1884 tour, penroseparkcityut.com ee REAL ESTATE EXCLUSIVE AFFILIATE OF Sothebys INTERNATIONAL REALTY www.PenroseParkCity.com r fflillMwPi'wiil T A?" liaGIJTS. 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