Coming full circle

Albert Flinn's official job title is head rodeo coach for Eastern New Mexico University. This summer, he's also been a trail boss and herd wrangler, searching out "strays" for the upcoming reunion of the school's competitive rodeo teams from 1967 to 1969.

Eastern's 2019 College Daze Rodeo, scheduled Sept. 19-21 in Portales, will serve as the roundup corral for the ENMU Rodeo Reunion, with special recognition in store for the members of the 1969 men's national rodeo championship team, as well as the 1967 women's national championship team members, and the 1968 men's and women's reserve national championship teams.

For Flinn, it's a chance to show off his current rodeo team in "a really top-notch rodeo," as well as to "see guys I haven't had a chance to see for 50 years."

This reunion takes Flinn full circle. He was a member of the 1968 team his senior year at ENMU, back when he was a bull-riding, bronc-busting, steer wrestling kid from Roswell.

Following a 34-year hiatus as a banker - including nine years in Wells Fargo's Portales branch - he returned to ENMU in 2008 as the head rodeo coach.

Now he wants to make sure all of his former teammates - and the community that cheered them on - have plenty of advance notice to be at Lewis Cooper Arena in Portales next month.

Reunion attendees will be checking in at Greyhound Arena on the afternoon of Sept. 19, and will be at several events open to the public during the weekend, Flinn said.

Eastern's College Daze Rodeo is the kick-off event for the highly competitive Southwest Region of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association.

Flinn said more than 500 contestants representing the 17 schools in the Southwest Region are expected in Portales for the weekend.

"This is one of the best quality rodeos that you will have the opportunity to see," he promised. "The quality of contestants is as good as you can see."

The rodeo opens at 7 p.m. each night, Flinn said, and different groups will be introduced and honored at each performance: the 1967 women on Sept. 19, the 1968 men's and women's teams on Sept. 20, and the 1969 men's champions on Sept. 21.

The Saturday night rodeo on Sept. 21 is also "the short go," Flinn said, featuring the top 10 contestants in each event. "It's as good a watchin' as you'll ever see."

Reunion honorees will have lunch in the ENMU dining hall at 1 p.m. on Sept. 20, and the public is encouraged to buy a ticket at the door and join them, Flinn said. The cost is $8.75 plus tax.

The next day the former Greyhound cowboys and cowgirls will be chowing down on barbecue at the Lewis Cooper Arena at 1 p.m. The public is welcome to sidle up to the table there for $8.50 a plate, Flinn added.

The 1967 women's team included Linda (Blackburn) Sultemeier, Linda (Griffin) Haragan, and Donna (Kinkead) Patterson. Haragan and Patterson were also on the 1968 women's team, along with Carolyn (Hays) Crill, Flinn said.

Besides Flinn, other members of the 1968 men's team were Ross Chesser, Butch Cody, Bob Crill, Jack Faulk, and Tom Maize.

The men's team that lassoed the national crown in 1969 in Deadwood, South Dakota, (a location that is almost too perfectly named to be believable), included Chesser, as well as Ben Calhoun, Lester Harrelson, Virgil Lawson, Gary Lewis, and Lon Sultemeier.

Flinn said Maize died in a plane crash, and Harrelson was killed riding a bull in 1974, but he's heard from many of the others and expects a good turnout.

Rodeo tickets for all three performances will be available at the gate at Lewis Cooper Arena. The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for students 12 and over. Little wranglers - those 11 and under - enter for free, as do ENMU students with ID.

If you'd like to know more or share some of your own rodeo memories, Albert Flinn has a hankering to hear from you. His number is 575-760-0104 and his email is:

[email protected]

Head 'em up, move 'em out. It's rodeo reunion time.

Betty Williamson hopes Eastern draws a stampede to the reunion, but a friendly one. Reach her at:

[email protected]