There were questions and concerns. Ordinary people sought advice from medical professionals. The uncertainty was real, and what followed were cancellations and postponements with no real end in sight.
On a smaller scale than the COVID pandemic five years earlier, live-event Western sports were affected by the equine herpesvirus outbreak in November. The Kimes Ranch Million Dollar Breakaway Roping moved from just the end of that month to mid-December. The National Finals Breakaway Roping was postponed and rescheduled from Las Vegas to Fort Worth, Texas. The grand entry for the National Finals Rodeo was scrubbed, and the 118 contestants, queens, and flag girls walked onto the dirt from the out-gate.
The Prairie Circuit board faced the same uncertainty, and like the others, approached it wth an abundance of caution. Just days after the confirmation of the EHV outbreak, board members met and agreed to cancel initially, then postpone the regional championship, which had been scheduled for the week before Thanksgiving at Mulvane, Kansas.
“It’s been kind of a headache to say the least,” said Dru Melvin, an NFR-qualifying bulldogger who serves on the board. “We felt like we owed it to our contestants, our committees that put on rodeos throughout the year, and our contractors to put on a finals. We had a couple of options, and we ended up with Pawhuska, Oklahoma. They opened their arms and said, ‘Come on.’ ”
The Prairie Circuit finale moved dates and places and will be Jan. 30-31 at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, a community of about 3,000 souls in northern Oklahoma. The town will be the sixth home of the regional championship over the past two decades, the last several having been hosted by an organizational committee in Duncan, Oklahoma.
“They did us a great job for 13 years,” Melvin said. “We appreciate everything they did, and then we understand if it’s not feasible for them, whether it was financial or they just couldn’t get volunteers. That’s all important for a committee like that.”
The circuit board has served as its own committee in producing the finale for the 2025 season. The board is made up of representatives for contestants, stock contractors, and rodeos, and creating a rodeo isn’t typically within the purview of the governing body. Board members have been working diligently anyway.
“As a board, we’re always open to opportunities, and we wouldn’t be doing our jobs for the people we represent if we didn’t look for those opportunities,” Melvin said. “We wouldn’t be doing them justice if we didn’t explore options. If there are options out there, we’d love to hear from people to know what they are.”
That may mean another move; the possibilities are creating a long-term relationship with a contingent in Pawhuska, returning to Mulvane, or opening the doors to some other community interested in hosting the circuit championship.
“Everyone deserves to have a circuit finals, and we’re glad we can have one,” Melvin said. “Yeah, it’s a little bit of a scramble, but we’re ready to go.”
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Reigning world champion breakaway roper Taylor Munsell was raised in the Prairie Circuit and is a past champion of the region. After the equine herpesvirus forced the cancelation of the Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo at Mulvane, Kansas, circuit board members opted to move the championship to Jan. 30-31 at Pawhuska, Oklahoma. (PHOTO BY DALE HIRSCHMAN)
