Ollie Osborn

Ollie Osborn was born July 24, 1896 in Union, Oregon to George and Mary Ellen (Hall) Osborn.

At the age of 16, she began going to rodeos with her brother and soon started riding bucking horses. She enjoyed it so much that she traveled to several rodeos including Madison Square Garden in New York City. At one time she worked for a man that had a wild west how. She received several awards for her bronc riding, one which includes membership in the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame.

Ollie was the first woman to pursue the sport of rodeo full-time and be a constant champion. Born to Oregon homestead ranchers, she began competing in the early relay races when she was a teenager, but she discovered bronc riding and made a name for herself by riding “slick” without hobbles, like the men. Remembered for her daring rides and extravagant tailor-mode clothes.

Her first taste of big time rodeo was at the 1914 Frontier Days in Walla Walla. Ollie Continue reading…

Category: People & Volunteers

Deb Copenhaver

Deb Copenhaver was born Jan. 21, 1925 in Wilbur, WA. Copenhaver’s first competition was at a Keller Salmon Days Rodeo in 1940. After serving in the Navy Seabees during World War II, he came home to compete in all of the big North American rodeos.  He won the bronc riding two or three times each at Cheyenne, Calgary, Denver, Ft. Worth, Houston, Kansas City, Salinas and Madison Square Garden. Deb won the Pendleton Round-Up in 1955.

Copenhaver and his wife Cheryl and family had a dream, “I rode often and fast,” Copenhaver said. “I wanted acreage, it would be our future.” Copenhaver achieved his dream, buying land near Creston, where he bred and raised quality Quarter Horses and operated Copenhaver’s Cafe in town. During the heyday of Copenhaver’s Cafe, Hank Thompson, Bonnie Guitar, Ernest Tubb and other music greats all played.  Copenhavers raised their family in the wheat country of Creston.

Deb Copenhaver was World Champion Bronc Rider in 1955 & 1956. He started his rodeo career after being discharged from Uncle Sam’s service in 1946. He entered Continue reading…

Category: People & Volunteers

The eleventh Annual U.S. Bank/Pendleton PBR Classic returns September 14^th and 15^th at the Happy Canyon Arena.  Tickets will go on sale at 8:30 am Wednesday, June 17^th.  The award winning, wildly popular PBR returns to Pendleton as one of the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco tour events, providing the top bull riders in the nation a chance to compete for the highest purse on the tour.  US Bank returns again as the title sponsor of the PBR Classic for their eighth straight year.

Happy Canyon Director Michael Corey thinks the PBR event opens the Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon week in fine fashion.  “This is a very popular event and it’s really a fantastic way to start out the week,” he said.  “The excitement it generates really gets things rolling. ” The U.S. Bank/Pendleton PBR Classic has won the PBR’s Venue of the Year Award twice.

Round-Up Director Carl Culham agrees.  “We’re fortunate to have some of the best bull riders in the world facing some of the best bulls in the world every year.  It’s easy to see why this event is so popular.”

U.S. Bank/Pendleton PBR Classic tickets are available in person at the Round-Up and Happy Canyon office or by calling 1-800-457-6336, 541-276-2553, or any Ticketmaster outlet at 800-745-3000.

The Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon is held annually the second full week of September in Pendleton, Ore.  The Round-Up began in 1910 and is recognized as one of the oldest and most prestigious rodeos in the world and won the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association’s 2003 Large Outdoor Rodeo Committee of the Year Award.  The Happy Canyon Night Show is a colorful display of Indian pageantry and tradition and takes place every night of Round-Up.  A week full of activities, including parades, concerts, PBR bull-riding competition, barbecues, dances, gambling and numerous other events begin Saturday, Sept. 12^th and continue through Saturday, Sept. 19^th. For more background information about the Pendleton Round-Up, Happy Canyon Night Show and its many ancillary events, visit www.pendletonroundup.com.

Category: News & Updates