Oregon’s Haines Stampede: How volunteers revived a century-old rodeo

Rain on the Fourth of July brought a muddy start to the annual rodeo in Haines, Oregon, held July 3-4.

But what’s a little mud to a cowboy?

The Haines Stampede traces its roots back to the mid-1890s. That’s when a rodeo was first held in the Rock Creek area, about five miles northwest of Haines, in Baker County.

The Haines Stampede was a regular part of the eastern Oregon town’s Fourth of July celebrations until the mid-1980s, when the rodeo grounds fell into disrepair and the rodeo was disbanded.

“In 1990, a bunch of us in the community got together and thought, we ought to start the rodeo again,” said Bill Taylor, the historian for the rodeo association and one of its founding members. The idea came up during an evening at the local watering hole. “We were all up at the Circle H one night, and some guys decided, ‘Hey, let’s do the rodeo.’”

They called on community volunteers, who chipped in time and money to build the current rodeo facility. They finished the new arena just in time for the rodeo to return to Haines on July 4, 1991.

“We were literally, on the morning of the Fourth, still putting nails in,” said Ken Bain, one of the directors with the rodeo association.

The Haines Stampede has been going ever since, run entirely by volunteers. The two-day event brings an average of 4,000 people to town each year, Bain estimated — not bad for a former mining town of less than 400 people.

 “It’s just kind of a hometown event,” Taylor said. “As you can see, even with the rain we had today, we have a pretty decent crowd. It is, in our opinion, the best little rodeo in the state of Oregon.”

The Pendleton Round-Up is known as the place to “Let ‘er Buck.” But here in Haines, the motto they’ve been using since the 1920s is “Cut ‘er Loose.”

Rodeo events continue this holiday weekend at the Haines Stampede Arena, where the Haines Junior Rodeo will be held July 5-6. Events include pony bronc riding, dummy roping and “mutton busting,” in which kids ages 5 and younger attempt to ride a sheep. The Junior Rodeo is free to attend. Find a full schedule of events at hainesstampede.com.

Next up at the Haines Rodeo Arena? The annual demolition derby will be held there at 6 p.m. Aug. 2.