East Oregonian
PENDLETON — For the past several Septembers, members of the Pendleton Round-Up Board of Directors and representatives from the Pro Bull Riders association watched the PBR Tour flourish during Pendleton’s annual rodeo. They jointly noted the reaction from the community and the riders and looked for a way to expand on that.
“Quite often the Round-Up and Happy Canyon folks are asked, ‘Isn’t there more that you can do for the community than once a year?’ ” board member Randy Thomas said. “But it’s all volunteer, so you’re asking more of them.”
But with a largely volunteer-based workforce, the risk of adding another event kept the idea sitting on a shelf. Bringing in the PBR for a mid-summer blowout would be great, the directors thought, but it felt like just a pipedream.