| Salt Lake City |
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12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
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| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
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11 |
7 |
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24 |
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| CAN |
6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
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6 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
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2 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
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4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
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4 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
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| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
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| NED |
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Cowboy says rodeo will prove itself
By Elyse Hayes
Deseret News staff writer
Utah's own world champion cowboy says he has not let the controversy surrounding the Olympic rodeo diminish his excitement about participating in the event. In fact, he hopes rodeo critics and international visitors will see first-hand the professionalism involved in the sport.
"Everything is run and handled so well," Lan LaJeunesse said. "I hope it will open their eyes to how well (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) and cowboys take care of the animals."
LaJeunesse, the 2001 World Bareback Riding Champion from Morgan, Utah, will ride in the Olympic Command Performance Rodeo today through Monday in Farmington along with top cowboys from around the county. They will compete against top riders from Canada for medals and prize money.
LaJeunesse says he is honored to be able to ride in a cultural Olympic event in Utah and is excited for the opportunity to showcase the sport for a worldwide audience.
"I'd just like them to have a little bit of a taste of what rodeo is and see that it's an exciting sport," he said. "I take my hat off to (SLOC) for including the rodeo in the Olympics."
But some disagree. Protesters of the Olympic rodeo have been vocal and visible throughout the torch relay and in the weeks preceding the Olympics — and they intend to stay that way during the three-day run of the 2002 Olympic Command Performance Rodeo.
Both Farmington and the Utah Animal Rights Coalition anticipate peaceful protests outside the Legacy Center at the county fairgrounds where the nearly sold-out rodeo will be held indoors.
Peaceful, but hard to miss.
UARC Executive Director Sean Diener said the organization is planning nine protests in various locations throughout the Games in Salt Lake City and Farmington. Animal-rights groups People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Showing Animals Respect and Kindness are also involved in the group effort to protest the rodeo, which runs Saturday through Monday.
"It's just a group of concerned citizens who are outraged that the rodeo is part of the Olympics," Diener said.
Diener expects about 135 protesters to be involved, with at least 100 demonstrating in Farmington the three nights of the rodeo. In addition to people dressed as animals and holding up anti-rodeo signs, SHARK will have its 14-foot "tiger truck" roaming the streets. The multimedia vehicle is equipped with several large video screens showing undercover footage of abuse in the rodeo, Diener said.
That includes the pain and suffering of animals, he said, something that animal-rights groups say should have no part on the 2002 Winter Games.
PETA is sending only one of its 750,000 members to represent the group in denouncing the endorsement of the rodeo by the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. In a news release the group states "hundreds who were en route to Utah will now spend elsewhere" as a way to "turn their backs on Utah."
The group's Olympic rodeo campaigner and members of UARC Friday displayed a banner on Redwood Road near the I-180 overpass reading, "Don't Shame the Games — Buck the Olympic Rodeo."
UARC was granted a permit for 135 people, a number that requires the group to arrange for two portable toilets near the protest zone for all three nights of the rodeo protest.
Diener called the requirement "silly" and said Salt Lake City was not requiring the same, but Mayor Dave Connors said the city was just following recommendations of the county health department.
"Whether protesting or having a picnic, the same rules apply," Connors said.
The city is coordinating with the county for security measures, with the Davis County Sheriff's Office handling security of the actual event and the fairgrounds and the Farmington Police Department watching over the streets. Aside from those two organizations, various public safety outlets nearby will be on call, Connors said.
Protesters will be just northeast of the indoor rodeo facility along the main access road to the parking lot in a spot where everyone driving to the event will be able to see them, Connors said. He expects the three-day event, which is the only Olympic-sponsored event in Davis County, to be a success.
"We have every reason to believe it will go smoothly," he said.
SLOC considered dropping its sponsorship of the event if the calf roping competition was not left out, but then decided to keep its sponsorship anyway. County leaders were thrilled SLOC decided to keep the rodeo a cultural Olympic event.
E-mail: ehayes@desnews.com
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February 9, 2002
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