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Local women take first in Cowhand Olympics

While major news outlets cover the upcoming Olympic games in China, a couple of Marion County women took the Equifest Cowhand Olympics by storm with a first place win the last weekend in February.

Billie Jo Claassen of Peabody and Callie Jo Peterson of Marion teamed up to show their horsemanship and physical strength through three days of competition at the Kansas Coliseum.

"We had a great time," said Claassen. "There were some good teams in the competition."

The women started on Friday with a fairly simple event — trailer loading. They were timed loading a steer and two horses into a trailer. The second event on Friday (also timed) was ribbon roping where one partner was required to rope a steer sporting a ribbon tied to his tail. The other partner removed the ribbon.

Claassen and Peterson were pleased to find themselves in second place at the end of the first day.

"We were pretty glad to be that close to the top," said Claassen.

On Saturday the pair worked hard competing all day long. Obstacle courses, backing their horses through an L-shaped pen, and more timed events were part of their agenda.

"We did a lot of runs like riding to a pole, taking a slicker off a hook, putting it on, fastening it up, unfastening it, taking it off, and hanging it back up," she said. "Another was to zigzag through four poles, cross a wooden bridge, make a timed run to a gate, open it, shut it, that kind of thing."

But as Saturday's competition came to an end the pair had fallen to third place.

Sunday saw the women in the finals, but both assumed they would not be in the running for first place.

"We were the only team to get the event done in the time allowed," said Claassen. "We had to cut two steers from a herd, put them in a pen, then select, head, and heal one in less than five minutes.

"We got it done in 4:15 and felt good about it, but didn't think the time would win."

But they took first.

"No one else even had a time," she said. "No one got it done in under five (minutes)."

The women received belt buckles for their first place finish and enjoyed their success over the men's teams in the competition. "They did some big time pouting," said Claassen with a smile. "We definitely had a better day than they did!"

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