Logan hosted a lineman rodeo for municipal power companies at the Cache County Fairgrounds Thursday. The Intermountain Power Superintendents Association, made up of 70 different companies in the Great Basin region, sponsors the biannual event at different locations.
Fifteen municipal power companies climbed utility poles and performed different obstacles on power poles.
Steve Crosby, operations manager of Logan City Light and Power, was charged with making the rodeo happen.
He said there were 19 teams from 15 different power companies attending this year’s event. Some companies had two teams. Most of the companies were municipal power companies. Some of the lineman work as teams and some of the events were solo.
“There are three events with three different obstacles they have to do,” Crosby said. “It’s a competition, but it’s who can do it the safest. It is timed, but it is all about safety.”
He said the rodeo gives the linemen an opportunity to use their training.
“The competition is meant to hone their skills and get them to think,” Crosby said. “It is also a chance for them to have fun.”
Some of the teams came from as far away as St. George.
“We have as many as 250 people attending the rodeo,” Crosby said. “I think we filled two hotels.”
It was lucky Summerfest was going on at the same time, because some of the participants wanted to go to see downtown Logan. He said he was hoping the two events happening at the same time would be a bigger draw.
The Logan rodeo was held in an unusual venue.
“Generally, rodeos are held in rodeo arenas, it’s dusty and dirty. This one we held at the fairgrounds with grass and trees,” Crosby said. “We’ve had some positive feedback. We feel like it’s been successful.”
Bleachers were on hand so families could watch the different events.
Bruce Turner, operations manager for Murray Power, said the rodeo is a way to check the skills of participants. “Everyone will use all of their skills today.”
By Friday afternoon, all of the poles and power lines were removed and the holes filled in. Everything is back to normal at the fairgrounds.