Grant County’s Taytyn Harper hangs on in the first go-round of the mini-bull riding competition during the John Day Bull Bash on May 28, 2022, at the Grant County Fairgrounds.

JOHN DAY — Rainy weather did not dampen the spirits of hundreds of rodeo fans recently in John Day.

In its second year, the John Day Bull Bash — May 27-28 at the Grant County Fairgrounds — featured bull, steer and calf riding as well as professional bullfighting, with both local and out-of-town competitors from the bull riding community, according to organizer and Grant County resident Joe Oakes.

Oakes, a former professional bull rider himself, said he thought people would skip the event because of the unrelenting rain.

“(The weather) was just depressing and I didn’t think anyone would come,” Oakes said, “but then I couldn’t believe how many people came in that kind of weather.”

Oakes said 400 to 500 people attended the first night and no fewer than 400 came out for the second.

Last year — without the rain — he said the event drew a much larger crowd. Oakes, who grew up competing in high school rodeos at the Grant County Fairgrounds, said he was inspired to organize the event amid the fatigue many in the county and across the country were feeling with the ongoing pandemic restrictions.

“I was depressed and wanted to do something,” Oakes said. “I felt like the community was ready to do something.”

Oakes said he called his friends in the bull riding community and others in the county got involved and people packed the grandstands at the fairgrounds.

Oakes said he grew up riding bulls, but now he is too old. Nonetheless, he still wants to be involved with the sport.

The bull riding community, he said, is a family-oriented group of people and the rodeo community is its own family, too. Not just the contestants but the fans as well. Events like the bull bash, he added, bring commerce to the county’s restaurants and other businesses.

“It’s a big shot in the arm for them,” he said. “(The rodeo) gives people something to remember and they love it, and they’ll come back next year.”

Youth competition

Bransyn Harper, 9, took first in the mini-bull riding competition with 79 points, while his older brother Taytyn, 13, took second with 75. Gus McDaniel took the steer riding championship while Oakes’ son Sterling (Little Joe), 6, was the calf riding champion.

Bull riding champions

Colten Dougherty took first place overall with a score of 84 on Friday and 87 Saturday.

In the second-place spot was Wyatt Moulton, who scored 83 on the first night of the competition and 86 in the final going.