The first time she competed in the North Star Stampede, Laura Carter took top honors in barrel racing. She finished first again in the same competition in Effie in 2007 and 2008.

The 23-year-old from Orr kept her streak alive with a record fourth consecutive win in the barrel race on Sunday at one of her favorite rodeos.

“I’ve been working my butt off” to get ready for the North Star Stampede, said Carter. “It’s the only local rodeo of its kind.”

Indeed, the North Star Stampede is unique in North America, according to Howard Pitzen, who said a near-record crowd attended this year’s rodeo.

“It’s the only private enterprise rodeo on the North American continent that is put on by the same owner and in the same venue for over 50 years,” said Pitzen, who also prides himself on being true to the history and spirit of rodeos.

“Today’s rodeos are so commercialized with sponsor signs on the fences and every other announcement being a plug for something,” said Pitzen. “We kept the old frontier flavor. A plain old-time cowboy from a hundred years ago would feel right at home here.”

Carter added her compliments. “I want to thank the Pitzens,” she said. “They put on awesome rodeo.”

Rodeo bug

Carter began barrel racing as a youngster and now is ranked as a pro on the rodeo circuit. “I have always really, really liked to go fast,” said Carter about the appeal of the sport.

Accuracy is just as important as speed as riders maneuver their steeds in a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels. Getting as close to the barrels as possible increases your speed, Carter said, but you cannot overturn any of the barrels during your ride.

Good communication between the rider and the horse is critical. “You rely entirely on body language and you have to be totally in sync,” said Carter, who said races can be lost by less than a hundredth of a second. “Every little fling of your head is important.”

Pay varies from rodeo to rodeo, but the financial rewards can be substantial. Carter took home $1,200 from the North Star Stampede for a 15.7-second ride, but that doesn’t include the hours of practice and training she and her horse put in prior to the competition.

Carter, who graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth last spring with a degree in graphic design, said she’s earning enough from rodeo competitions, training horses and providing barrel racing lessons to pay her bills. She travels to Duluth once a week to provide racing lessons.

But money isn’t the chief reason that people are drawn to rodeos.

“We call it the rodeo bug,” said Pitzen. “It’s a virus. It gets under your skin.”

The attraction is hard to explain, especially given the risk of injuries, Pitzen acknowledged.

“It’s an occupational hazard when you’re dealing with rough stock,” he said. “It’s just a case of when and how bad” you’re going to be injured.

Although the North Star Stampede has been relatively free of serious injuries for the last couple of years, the odds finally caught up this weekend. Several were hurt, including one handler who was kicked in the face by a bull, and at least two contestants were airlifted to hospitals, according to Pitzen. His daughter-in-law Cindy Pitzen suffered a light concussion and damage to her ribs when she took a spill during the barrel ride competition.

“Cowboys just accept the risks,” said Pitzen, “but it’s hard sometimes for others to understand why anyone would do this.”

Winners at rodeo

In addition to Carter, other winners at the North Star Stampede included:

Bareback riding — Jason Lensen of Cook.

Calf roping — Gene Hamilton of Backus.

Saddle bronc riding — Leroy Pitzen of Effie and Brent Bigen of Adams, N.D. (tie).

Novice bronc riding — Allen Hoffman of Bigfork.

Steer wrestling — Mark Utterman of Hillman.

Bull riding — Cody Pitzen of Squaw Lake.

Team roping — Matt Otto of Buffalo and Andy Otto of Grand Forks, N.D.

Novice bull riding — Sam Bell of Motley.