Rain rain went away for the annual Cowboy Carnival

Rain clouds hovered over the horizon May 25 in Hyattville, but in the end, it was the sunshine that  prevailed for the Cowboy Carnival.
Organizer Mary Hyatt Burns said, “The occasion turned into a beautiful, sunny day where the crowd of just under 400 people were able to enjoy all the events except for the shooting events which were canceled. Everyone enjoyed the barbecue meal, homemade pies and ice cream.”
 The day culminated with the 20th Annual Hyattville Cowboy Carnival live auction and raffle ticket drawings.  Bob Herman was the auctioneer.
Burns said that this year’s quilt show drew entries as far away as Sheridan. “There was a continuous flow of people admiring these works of art and selecting their favorites in the five different categories,” she said.
In the large category, first place went to Tori Dietz of Worland for her Feathered Star entry. Lili Turnell of Meeteetse placed first in the medium category. Her quilt was titled Diamond Log Cabin. For the small category Sara Person of Cody won with her Roam quilt.  Becky Rodriquez of Powell took first place in Art Quilts. Her quilt was called Tiny Treasures. In the any other category, Rose French of Powell won with her Log Cabin Travel Cost quilt.
The 5K adult winners were Deb Clifford of Basin and Connor Hoyt of Burlington. Burgess Hamilton of Worland placed first in the 1K kids race.
Burns said of the Chancey McMillan Memorial Sheep Dog Jackpot Dog Trials Competition: “The Tharp family continues to sponsor this event with Lisa Keeler, Allison Gerad and their crew from Kaycee helping to facilitate the event this year. Hamilton Ranch provided the sheep and the pens and helped get it ready and removed. Ranchlands provided the pasture to hold the competition next to the center.” Linda Lulias and Gill of Buffalo placed first in open class. J.P Frances and Ice of Buffalo placed first in the ranch class.
She continued, “Todd Jones’s packing demonstration and Cherokee Jackson’s Basic Colt Training drew the interest of large groups of people. The history displays of “Cattle Trails to WY and Local Cattle and Sheep Trails along with featuring the lives of Helen Turner and her writings and Jack Turner and his ranching and purebred Hereford cattle business was very informative and enlightening for those that did not personally know them. Melissa Cook from the University of Wyoming Extension Office in Basin, joined us this year with a large variety of information of all the various demonstrations, activities and classes that are available in our area plus she checked pressure valves of canning kettles.”
According to Burns the activities for the kids kept them busy all day in the activity area. “Carl Jones’s petting zoo and the BeeBee gun shoot were real hits. The original swing set and merry-go-round certainly entertained the kids as they have done since the school was originally built.”
She expressed thanks to all the donors as well as those that purchased items and participated in the raffle.   The winners of the raffle drawings were: Quarter Beef Bundle (donated by HCC) – Bob Uffleman of Worland; Yeti Cooler (donated by Ridley’s Ace Hardware of Greybull) – Dave Wieland of Hyattville, and One Night Stay at Base Camp (donated by Carl and Collette Meyers) – Jeannie Harkness of Worland.
Burns added, “Our thanks also go out to Medicine Lodge Archaeological Site and Brooks Jordan for the tents and selling the beverages that were donated by Pepsi, the meat donations from Hamilton Ranch, Todd and Nancy Jones, and the Tharp family and Paintrock Processing for their processing and donation. Kris Robertson’s pie crew certainly baked a fabulous selection of pies this year for the crowd to enjoy.”