Seventy-five years ago, a legend competed at the Benton County Fair & Rodeo.

It was only the third rodeo associated with the Tri-Cities’ annual summer celebration of agriculture that first began 115 years ago in 1911 when it was celebrated as a grape festival.

The first rodeo was held in conjunction with the fair in 1949 at what is now the Benton County Fairgrounds in Kennewick.

By that third rodeo in 1951, both legendary cowboys and stock were selecting or being selected for major rodeo competition at the Kennewick fairgrounds and rodeo arena.

Today, the Horse Heaven Round-Up here is considered one of the top rodeos anywhere on the circuit of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). This year presents the 78th rendition of top professional rodeo cowboys and stock competing during the fair and rodeo Aug. 25-29 at the fairgrounds off 10th Avenue and Oak Street. 

The downtown Kennewick fair parade is at 10 a.m. Aug. 22.

One of the early legends to compete in Kennewick came along for that third rodeo in 1951.

Snake, a head-rolling, cowboy-depositing bronc that today remains a legend among all the stock ever to compete on the rodeo circuit. Few cowboys ever completed a full 10-second ride on Snake, and a research of rodeo history finds Snake prominent among its legends.

He made his reputation in the late 1940s and early 1950s for his legendary efforts to send a cowboy onto his britches before completing a ride.

“Snake was a notorious 1,300-pound brown Shire-cross known for a ‘wild style’ that included high jumping, head-flinging and sudden-violent turns,” noted a description on a record of his historic levels of achievement as a bronc.

Snake’s reputation for being nearly unrideable secured his reputation among cowboys who tried to ride him and among fans who followed him.

“He was notoriously difficult because he lacked a set pattern, using a combination of diving, twisting and kicking to the side that made him unpredictable and immensely difficult to stay,” according to a history of his feats. 

Snake was one of some 40 bucking horses brought to the 1951 rodeo in Kennewick during the fair by Joe Kelsey of Tonasket, known for producing top bucking stock for top rodeos from Pendleton to Ellensburg, Lewiston and San Francisco.

Joining Snake at the rodeo here 75 years ago from Kelsey’s stock were 40 head of bucking horse, including some with their own reputations at the time. Among them were Devil’s Dream, Calgary, Sky Rocket and Treasure Island.

Among all stock brought by Kelsey to the Kennewick rodeo that year were 20 head of Brahma bulls, 15 bulldogging steers and 20 cows and calves.

One of the very few to ride Snake for the 10-second ride was Deb Copenhaver, a world champion bronc rider and rodeo hall of famer, who made a name for himself by being the first to do so in 1949 at the Penticton Peach Festival and Rodeo in Penticton, British Columbia. A description of the ride said that Copenhaver “handled every terrible jump, twist and turn.”

Copenhaver said of Snake that he would “jump and kick for a half dozen jumps, then rear up, throwing his head back at you” before “rooting his head and kicking at the same time.”

That successful Penticton ride was not the only face-to-face between Copenhaver and Snake. On two other rides, Copenhaver was deposited on the seat of his pants in rodeo arenas by Snake before completing a ride.

The rodeo section of the Benton County Fair in those days was sponsored by the Benton County Mounted Sheriff’s Posse. Posse captain for the first rodeo in 1949 was Orin Lande who moved to managing the rodeo three years later when Snake competed. Sheriff’s Posse captain for the 1951 event was A.M. “Bud” Richter who arrived in Benton County in 1911, and who from 1935 to 1942 was the elected sheriff of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.

Today, the Horse Heaven Round-Up is supported by a large network of corporate sponsors. Among more than 800 PRCA-sanctioned events nationwide, it consistently ranks in the top 25. It draws elite cowboys and cowgirls seeking to boost their rankings with championship points and prize money before competing in the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas each December. The Horse Heaven Round-Up is considered a lucrative payout. Its prize purse often exceeds $300,000.

While the mounted posse no longer sponsors the rodeo section associated with the Benton Franklin Fair, today’s Benton-Franklin Sheriff’s Posse, a nonprofit volunteer organization assisting the sheriffs’ offices in the two counties, is active at fair time with search and rescue, community events and patrols around the fair.

This year marks the 73rd anniversary of the Benton Franklin Fair as a combined bicounty enterprise. The first so marked was 1954.

The 1946 and 1947 grape festivals re-established fairs here after a Great Depression and World War II hiatus. In 1948 through 1953, it was known as the Benton County Fair, but because of strong support and involvement by Franklin County, some historical accounts of the fair contend it actually became a bicounty fair in 1948, making this year a 79th anniversary.

Gale Metcalf of Kennewick is a lifelong Tri-Citian, retired Tri-City Herald employee and volunteer for the East Benton County Historical Museum. He writes the monthly history column.