Dateline: September 27, 2007

Hereford wagon wins Chuckwagon Cookoff

The Gayland Ward Wagon of Hereford took home top honors Saturday at the 13th annual Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon Cookoff.

Led by head cook John Wilson, Jr., the Gayland Ward had the third best Wagon & Camp and placed second in Overall Cooking while racking up enough points to win the Best Overall award.

Tickets for the cookoff, which benefits the Saints’ Roost Museum, sold out early, and extra tickets were prepared to meet the high demand .

Concessions were provided by Boy Scout Troop 433. A trade show was held throughout the day, and live entertainment was provided. Museum tours were led by the Clarendon High School Junior Historians. Relatives of legendary cattleman and Chuckwagon inventor Charles Goodnight also were on hand for their annual reunion.

For the prologue to the cookoff, an estimated 170 people enjoyed a delicious steak dinner Friday night on the museum grounds. The invitation-only event was held exclusively for Chuckwagon teams and members of the museum and their families.

Ten wagons served a menu of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, beans, and cobbler. Prizes totaling more than $3,000 were paid out to the winners.

Complete results were:

Overall Wagon & Cooking: 1) Gayland Ward Wagon, 2) T Half Circle Wagon of Silverton, 3) J Bar D Ranch of Amarillo, and 4) Rocking K Chuckwagon of Southland.

Overall Cooking: 1) T Half Circle, 2) Gayland Ward, 3) J Bar D, and 4) Rocking K.

Best Wagon Camp: 1) J Bar D, 2) Rocking K, 3) Gayland Ward, and 4) Quarter Circle KC of Lockney.

Best Meat: 1) T Half Circle, 2) C4B Chuckwagon of Amarillo, 3) Rocking K, and 4) McFall Wagon of Pampa.

Best Beans: 1) McFall, 2) Gayland Ward, 3) Honey-Do-Spoiler of Pampa, and 4) J Bar D.

Best Dessert: 1) Rocking K, 2) Gayland Ward, 3) T Half Circle, and 4) J Bar D.

Best Bread: 1) Quarter Circle KC, 2) Rocking K, 3) Gayland Ward, and 4) Honey-Do-Spoiler.

Best Potatoes: 1) T Half Circle, 2) Whitaker Ranch of Caynon, 3) Honey-Do-Spoiler, and 4) J Bar D.

Wagon Judges this year were Barry Pittman and Owen Noble. Food Judges were under the direction of Tashia Duncan.

Other winners Saturday were  David Doshier of Vega, who won a pair of James Owens handmade boots; Leona Adkins, who won an original Greta Byars artwork; and Kathy Christensen, who won an original artwork by Mary Selfridge.