Ben Estlack

By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo

They almost pulled it off.

Two Clarendon College cowboys put on a whale of a show during last week’s College National Finals Rodeo and left their mark on everyone in Casper, Wyoming. They came up just a few points short of claiming the men’s team title, but they’re pretty excited about being the runners-up.

“I think it shows what Clarendon College is all about,” said Weston Timberman, a sophomore from Columbus, Montana, who won his second straight bareback riding crown. “It’s a no-joke school. If you go to Clarendon, you go there to ride bucking animals, and I think we’ve proven that time and time again.

“It shows how dominant we can be coming out of Clarendon. If we had six guys at the college finals, we would be unstoppable.”

The numbers prove his point. He was joined in Casper by Wacey Schalla, a freshman from Arapaho, Oklahoma, who qualified for the finale in both bareback riding and bull riding. Schalla finished as the titlist in both bull riding and the all-around, earning a spot in Saturday’s championship round in both events.

Early on, nobody was in more control. He won each of the first three rounds of bull riding and shared the first-round victory in bareback riding with Timberman and Bradlee Miller of Sam Houston (Texas) State University.

“The college finals went really good, and it will dang sure be a good head start heading into the summer,” Schalla said. “Weston Timberman and I cleaned house as much as we could.”

That they did. In addition to sharing the opening-round victory, Timberman won the second round and finished second in the third. He tied for fourth in the final round to claim the aggregate championship. Schalla finished 11th in the second and third rounds of bareback riding, then joined Timberman in that tie for fourth in the short round to finish sixth in the aggregate. Though he didn’t cover his bull on the final night, he won the aggregate with 247.5 points on three rides, just one point ahead of Zeke Martinez of Wharton County (Texas) Junior College.

“The all-around was a pretty big deal to me,” Schalla said. “That’s my goal next year in the PRCA … to win the all-around. To win the college finals’ all-around is a big help.

“I love the bull riding, because that’s what I’ve been doing since I was young. I just started riding bareback horses at the end of my sophomore year in high school. Now, it’s a big priority to win the all-around, because I enjoy doing them both.”

It was almost as if Timberman and Schalla worked in unison to build something special over the seven-day championship.

“It was awesome,” Timberman said. “We came in there as a two-man team, and between the two of us ended up winning six rounds, two event national titles, the all-around title and a bunch of awards and saddles. It was a pretty cool thing to be part of, and we showed up when it mattered.”

The duo added three more national championships to an already stellar program, which won team titles in 2021 and 2023. Combined, the Clarendon men have accumulated 10 titles since Bret Franks became coach in 2015. Saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper was the first in 2016, followed by Riggin Smith in 2019. Cole Franks won both the bareback riding and all-around crowns in 2021.

Each titlist already has a billboard in Clarendon that sings the praises of their accomplishments. Timberman’s will probably have to be redone, but Schalla will have his likeness and pair of championships listed for all to see when they make it to the community in the Texas Panhandle.

“Where I’m from is only two hours from Clarendon,” he said. “When I was 15 years old, I was getting on saddle bronc horses, so I’d go over there every week and practice with Bret. I knew I wanted to go there because of the practice facility and the opportunity that gives guys.

“Bret is a great coach, and he’s going to help you out as much as he can.”

Bret Franks rode broncs for a living and qualified for the National Finals Rodeo three times before he got into coaching. His first stop was at his alma mater at Oklahoma Panhandle State University, where he led the men to two national titles in 1997-98. His approach has worked for more than 25 years.

“Bret has been there and done that, so if I have any questions with entering or anything else, I can trust him enough to help me out,” Schalla said.

With Schalla and Timberman controlling the message, Clarendon College came close to pulling off the improbable win. The Bulldogs finished with 820 points, just 75 points shy of the champion, Tarleton State University of Stephenville, Texas.

“We went into the short round leading it by a little bit,” Timberman said. “We had just me and Wacey in the short round, and Tarleton had five guys in the short round. We didn’t quite get it pulled off like we’d hoped, but I think it was still cool to prove a point with two guys.”

Yes, it was.

A Hutto, Texas, family survived a single-vehicle accident on the east side of Clarendon last Wednesday, June 12, without serious injuries.

According to a report filed by Donley County Deputy Bernard Rivera, 57-year-old Phillps Wieser was westbound about 9:12 a.m. on US 287 coming into Clarendon on US 287 driving a 2018 Chevy Tahoe. Wieser placed a cup of coffee in the vehicle’s cupholder and veered off the road.

The Tahoe struck a power pole and flipped over as it went into a drainage ditch along Ayers Street.

Four children, ages ranging from four to 11, were able to get out of the vehicle. Wieser and his wife, 39-year-old Tricia Wieser, had to be extricated from the vehicle, the deputy reported.

Mrs. Wieser suffered a broken vertebrae and injured knee, and one of the children suffered a broken arm, the accident report stated.

No citations were issued following the accident.

The Clarendon City Council appointed a new alderman and discussed several issues ranging from garbage rates to groundwater sales during its regular meeting last Thursday, June 13.

The council met in closed session for about 20 minutes to discuss possible candidates to fill the position left vacant when former alderman Larry Jeffers did not run for re-election last month. Upon returning to open session, the council unanimously elected Ashlee Kidd Estlack to serve in that position until the next election.

Estlack is the third generation of her family to serve on the city council, following in the footsteps of her father, Doug Kidd, and grandfather, Bob Kidd.

With a full council in place, aldermen then unanimously selected Alderman Tommy Hill to serve as mayor pro tem.
Representatives of Waste Connections were present to discuss the company’s upcoming rate increase. Their contract with the city allows for a cost of living adjustment based on certain indices. The company is seeking an increase of about 3.5 percent. The council will revisit this next month. City officials discussed with Waste Connections complaints from citizens who are not having their garbage picked up regularly.

Aldermen reviewed the groundwater sales agreement with Greenbelt Water Authority. The city sells raw groundwater to Greenbelt, which mixes it with lake water and other groundwater sources and treats the water before distributing it to its member cities. The council approved a five-cent increase in the rate the city charges Greenbelt in the new three-year agreement.

The council discussed an encroachment license and agreement that would allow a pergola to be put back in front of Stocking Ice Cream Parlor on the city-owned sidewalk in the 100 block of South Kearney. No action was taken, however, as city officials reported the property owner had not yet agreed to sign the agreement.

An interlocal agreement was signed with Donley County to allow the county to use the city’s monofil to dispose of material from four houses. The county intends to demolish the houses to build an emergency command center at some point.

The city’s cyber security policy was updated as presented, and the council approved allowing members of the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department and their immediate family members to have a free swim night at the aquatic center.

Changes were approved regarding the employee handbook and compensation for certain footwear, and streets closures were approved for upcoming celebrations in July.

OJD Engineering was selected for groundwater project engineering services.

The council performed the annual evaluation of City Secretary Machiel Covey and approved a 5.1 percent increase in salary and extended her contract by one year. Discussion was held on how new overtime rules from the US Department of Labor might affect Covey’s position as an employee exempt from overtime, but the council agreed more information was needed about that.

The 2024 Route 66 Festival is continuing this week after a big crowd attended Day Two of the celebration in Donley County at the old Jericho townsite.

Numerous vendors were on hand for the Jericho Star Gazing part Friday evening, and a crowd grew steadily throughout the evening with hopes of seeing celestial wonders through the telescopes of the Amarillo Astronomy Club that were set up near the old tourist courts.

Mother Nature provided an extremely pleasant evening with a cool breeze and low temperatures, but fickle as she sometimes is in the Panhandle, she gathered storm clouds from the north just as the stars began to peak out. As the sun set, lightning dancing in the distance caused the telescopes to be put away and the evening quickly dismissed.

Organizers and townsite owners Blair and Blanca Schaffer were very happy with the turnout and say they plan on hosting more events at Jericho this year. A metal-detecting party recently turned up some interesting artifacts, and the townsite is scheduled to host more Route 66 tourists this week as the festival’s East Bus tour brings a load of Mother Road enthusiasts to the ghost town on Wednesday.

The West Bus tour will explore Panhandle points on Route 66 west of Amarillo on Thursday, and more events are scheduled throughout the week with the festival wrapping up Saturday in Amarillo. Check out more information at VisitAmarillo.com/TX66Fest.

Following last week’s Star Gazing Party, Jericho Route 66 decals are now available at the Clarendon Visitor Center. Pick one up weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.