Tillett Horse Races coming next weekend

Hooves will be pounding, manes will be whipping and hats will be flying as cowboys and cowgirls converge next weekend for the popular Crooked Creek Heritage Horse Races adjacent to Horseshoe Bend.

Now in its ninth year, the races – part of the annual Crooked Creek Cattle Rendezvous -- will once again be a three-day event August 7-9 including a new long-range race on Friday, the main series of races on Saturday, a songwriting contest Friday/Saturday and cowboy church on Sunday.

The races are presented annually by Crooked Creek Racing and the Crooked Creek Cattle Company and will take place at 1009 Highway 37, on the west side of Wyoming Highway 37 just north of the turnoff to Horseshoe Bend.

According to organizer Randi Tillett Weaver, a new six-mile race has been added to the event list this year on Friday, Aug. 7. The Bessie F. Tillett Tuff Enuff Race will begin at 9 a.m. at the top of the Darnell Hills and will take competitors through terrain that includes hills, sagebrush, gullies and running water. At one point the rider must dismount and walk the horse through a gate just west of the National Park Service ranger station and finish the race. The race concludes at the site of the shorter races to be held the following day.

Check-in will begin at 8 a.m. August 7.

The race is sponsored by the Manuel Arancibia family. Arancibia is a third-generation rancher from Argentina who travels more than 6,000 miles every year to attend the Rendezvous with the Tillett family. He is also a seasoned executive in the energy industry where he worked with Jim Tillett for many years and became good friends. 

The winner of the six-mile race will receive $500 and a belt buckle, and trophies will be awarded to riders finishing in second through fifth place. Weaver said there will be people available to map out the racecourse ahead of time, but there will be limited markings on the course the day of the race. She said she will be at the race site this Sunday, Aug. 2, from 1 to 3 p.m. for anyone who wants to go over the course.

Bessie, the Tillett family matriarch, was the definition of Tuff Enuff, the Crooked Creek Cattle Company Facebook site states.

Born in 1889, she came West in a covered wagon at just 5 years old. At 13 she rode alone carrying the mail 60 miles from Lovell into Dryhead and back. As a young woman she won a saddle in a riding contest. She homesteaded 640 acres at the head of Crooked Creek and, alongside her sons, built a ranch through the hardships of the 1930s and ‘40s. The website says she was certainly “Tuff Enuff.”

Songwriting contest

The second Pryor Mountain Songwriting Contest begins with registration Friday at 5 p.m. Each contest entry costs $20 for up to two titles. Enter by simply showing up at the rendezvous site across from the Horseshoe Bend turnoff at 1009 Highway 37 to obtain a title to write about.

Each entrant must be 12 or older and be able to play an instrument or have an accompanist. Register Friday evening to draw up to two song titles, write an original western/cowboy song for each title, then return Saturday at 5 p.m. to perform the song for judges and an audience.

The contest is being run by songwriter TJ Casey in honor of Art and Paula Cantin, with proceeds going to his nonprofit company Giving Back Foundation that assists farmers, ranchers and veterans. Casey will also perform Saturday evening.

Montana Silversmith buckles will be awarded for first, second and third place.

Saturday races and barbecue

The big day is Saturday, when the old-time horse races will be held in honor of the late Sharron Kelsey, Dick Gifford and Wayne Ringler across the highway from Horseshoe Bend. 

Check-in will begin at 10 a.m., with racing commencing shortly thereafter.

Races include the Sharron Kelsey Youngsters’ Lead Race, pony races (14.2 hands or less at the withers) for adults and kids, beginner’s race, walking race, trotting race, short race, long race, bareback race, Houston race for larger horses, a surprise race and the Dryhead race for the Tillett family.

Kelsey was born during a cold winter in December 1941, the fourth child of Jay and Pearl Kelsey, Weaver said, noting, “She grew up on the very land where the Tillett horse races are held and all along Crooked Creek, the Pryor Mountains and into Dryhead.”

Kelsey started riding from the moment she could walk, Weaver said, and she loved each and every one of her horses through the years. She loved gathering cattle with her family throughout the years. 

She shared her love of horses with her kids and grandchildren, Weaver said. Every year Sharron came back to her “home” along Crooked Creek to look at everything and reminisce about her time with her Kelsey family, the Tilletts and Marchants.

There will be prizes for all races and a belt buckle for the One Horse, One Rider category – named for Dick Gifford -- where a contestant rides the same horse for each race. The winner will receive the buckle, trophy, blanket and feed for the horse.

Gifford grew up on the family ranch and loved horses from an early age, Weaver said. He grew up helping out on the ranch, and when he was a freshman in high school, his dad started the rodeo stock company that the Giffords became known for, with Dick taking it over when his dad no longer did it. Gifford rode saddle broncs in high school and college. He went to NWCC and graduated from UW with a degree in animal science.

Gifford spent years helping kids in rodeo and life in general, Weaver said, adding that Emil Doerr and Gifford established the Lovell Rodeo Club during high school. He raised three boys and spent his life investing in kids, Weaver added.

The All-Around buckle is presented in honor of Wayne Ringler, who grew up in West Virginia and whose entire life was lived around horses, Weaver said. He came from a family of 12 kids, and all of their farming and work was done by horseback and with teams, including working in the woods with pony teams. He also spent his early years racing horses at county fairs.

Ringler moved his family to Wyoming and went to work for Hunt Oil, eventually working on ranches for several years. After he could no longer ride horses comfortably, he spent the rest of his life riding his “steel horse,” Weaver said.

A barbecue potluck dinner follows the races, and everyone is invited. Bring a side dish to share with meat, drinks and table service provided.

“This is a family event, so no alcohol, please,” Weaver said.

Everything is free, with donations accepted. Attendees are asked to bring their own chairs for the races and barbecue.

Cowboy church

On Sunday, the 4C Ranch Cowboy Church service will be held at 10:30 a.m. with coffee and donuts at 9:30 a.m. at 1009 Highway 37.

For more information, see Crooked Creek Cattle Co. on Facebook, @4c_adventure on Facebook or call Weaver at 307-899-8979, Dusti Tryon at 307-899-1865 or Zenaena Tryon at 307-272-7253. Email Weaver at rw.weaver.rw@gmail.com.