Fire Department Benefits From Milking Contest

Milking For A Cause

of the Wild Horse Ranch Rodeo on Wednesday, July 8.

Wolf Point Volunteer Firemen (from left) Trevor Davis, Cody Sietsema and Jarod Weyrauch grab a hold of a cow during the Milking For A Cause segment

(Photo by Bill Vander Weele)

A fairly new tradition for the Wolf Point Wild Horse Ranch Rodeo is “milking for a cause” to a help out an area individual or department.

The event features amateurs trying to rope and milk a cow in a three-minute time limit. A calcutta for the participating group and the cow is conducted before the fun begins.

Last year, about $5,000 (including matching funds provided by the Wolf Point Wrestling Club) was raised for high school student Kai Villaluz, who is battling a rare disease. The Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office took part in that fundraiser.

This year, the Wolf Point Volunteer Fire Department took the spotlight. The three-person team was able to complete the milking assignment within the three-minute time frame on Wednesday night.

Announcer and Roosevelt County Commissioner Robert Toavs told rodeo fans the sacrifices that firefighters make throughout the year. They are on call 356 days and 24 hours a day. They see terrible things that no one else wants to see.

“And these are volunteers,” Toavs said. “They are the ones who do it for nothing.”

During the calcutta, $1,050 was bid on the fire department and $1,350 was bid on the cow. The fire department received 40 percent of those funds.