At 7 PM this evening (Thursday, May 15) a team of investigators from Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) arrived at the Big Loop Rodeo in Jordan Valley, Oregon. The investigators are preparing equipment that will allow them to fully video-document the rodeo from outside the rodeo grounds. Last year, the rodeo board banned video cameras, except in the case of known rodeo supporters.
SHARK will use “Hi-Pods,” which allows video camera’s to be raised 30 ft. high, to film the rodeo from the outside. SHARK will be encamped outside the rodeo for the entire weekend to ensure that its equipment will not be removed or stolen. "We will have the best view of the rodeo without having to enter it,” says SHARK president Steve Hindi.
The Big Loop Rodeo is infamous for its abuse of horses through horse tripping.Terrified horses are individually chased by two mounted contestants. The first contestant ropes the horse around the neck. The second contestant then ropes the horse’s front legs, often causing the horse to slam to the ground, often on his head or neck. SHARK released a video after the 2012 Big Loop Rodeo showing horses being cruelly tripped. That video, which has been viewed more than 300,000 times, was the basis for a law passed in Oregon banning horse tripping.
You can see that video HERE.
Last year, at the 2013 Big Loop Rodeo in Jordan Valley, Oregon, Malheur Sheriff Deputies violently arrested an investigator from SHARK and made an illegal traffic stop against SHARK President Steve Hindi.
The deputies who made the arrest were caught on their own dashboard video camera talking about how they didn’t want to make the stop, and that they were acting on behalf of the rodeo board. That video was obtained by SHARK through a Freedom Of Information Act request and has been seen almost 2,000,000 times. It brought wide condemnation against the Malheur County Sheriff’s department and SHARK has filed a federal lawsuit against the deputies involved. That lawsuit is ongoing.
You can see that video HERE.
“Based on the violent and illegal behavior of Malheur County sheriff’s deputies, we have no faith that they will enforce Oregon’s new anti-horse tripping law,” states SHARK president Steve Hindi. The Malheur County Sheriff’s department has a fundraising booth at the rodeo, and there is at least one sheriff deputy on the rodeo board.
For more information regarding the illegal and violent acts committed by the Malheur County Sheriff’s Department, please view the following videos:
Malheur County Sheriff's Deputies remove their name tags before illegal traffic stop
The raw footage of the Malheur County Sheriff's Deputy's Dash Cam Recording 5/19/13
The raw footage of the Malheur County Sheriff's Deputy's Body Cam Recording 5/19/13
Press Coverage Leading up to the Rodeo
Will Horse Tripping Continue Despite New Oregon Law?
Jordan Valley rodeo undeterred by 'horse tripping' ban in Oregon
Horse roping or horse tripping? Jordan Valley rodeo exposes Oregon culture clash
