SALEM — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said she “would fully expect” for the Pendleton Round-Up to go forward as planned this year, with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention like mask wearing in place.

Brown’s statement came during a press conference on Tuesday, May 11, where the state set new reopening goals pending vaccinations.

When 70% of Oregonians over the age of 16 receive at least their first dose of the vaccine, Brown announced, capacity limits on restaurants, bars, stores, gyms and venues for athletics and entertainment, as well as limits on people who can gather for events and festivals, would be lifted.

The state also announced that individual counties with 65% of residents 16 and older at least partially vaccinated can move to lower risk starting on May 21, which allows restaurants, bars, gyms and indoor entertainment establishments to operate at half capacity.

When asked whether moving to lower risk and lifting restrictions would allow for major events like the Pendleton Round-Up, Brown said “there may be some CDC guidelines around masking that we will want to align with as we’re meeting Oregon’s needs, but I would fully expect that we will be able to Let’er Buck, so to speak, in September.”

For the Pendleton Round-Up Association’s board of directors, they took Brown’s comments as a positive sign that they would be able to realize their goal since they canceled the 2020 rodeo: a fully functional Round-Up in 2021 with all of the usual parades and side events.

“We love to hear it,” Round-Up Vice President Nick Sirovatka said. “The Pendleton Round-Up is an institution, not just in Pendleton, but on our side of the state. It brings a lot of good opportunities to our communities. Having the governor coming out with an optimistic stance that we would be able to move forward and hold our events is always a good thing to hear.”

While the governor reiterated that the Round-Up would need to follow CDC guidelines when reopening, Sirovatka said the safety plan for 2021 is still a “living document” that is subject to change as the CDC makes changes to its own rules in the coming months.

Round-Up Publicity Director Pat Reay said it was the “first positive announcement” they’ve heard from the governor in 2021 and they were happy to hear it.

In addition to getting state approval, Reay said the Round-Up needs to work with other entities like the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association and Umatilla County Public Health before proceeding. The Round-Up expects to finalize its safety plan sometime during mid-summer.

In the meantime, the Round-Up continues to gear up for September. The association has already announced dates for bull riding events in the days leading up to Round-Up and intends to reveal the main act at the kickoff concert soon.

Umatilla County Commissioner George Murdock said he wants to take Brown at her word because he “cannot fathom taking another $65 million hit by not having Round-Up.”

“I hope she also understands that the Round-Up can’t operate at half mast,” he said. “They have to go full bore, in terms of no crowd limitations. But she’s confident that by September we’re going to have it, and I like to take her at her word.”

Pendleton Mayor John Turner, a nonvoting member of the Round-Up board, said the governor’s comments would increase the Round-Up’s confidence in holding a full event.

For the state to progress and for events to be held safely, officials say that regions must have high vaccination rates.

But in Umatilla County, the least-vaccinated county in Oregon, vaccination rates have declined rapidly in recent weeks, leaving a greater vaccine supply than there is demand.

Nearly 25% of Umatilla County residents have received at least one shot, according to a Oregonian/OregonLive database, though the county has the second-highest COVID-19 case rate. That’s compared to the approximately 46% of all Oregonians who have received at least their first dose.

“I understand people’s individual rights not to get a shot if they choose not to,” Murdock said. “I just hope they consider the fact that might have an impact on events like Round-Up if they choose not to.”

He added: “If they’re going to use vaccination rate as a standard to determine whether or not these things are going to occur, then I think a vaccination is a small price to pay to make sure these things go on and get back to normal.”

The Pendleton Round-Up is scheduled for Sept. 15 through Sept. 18.