What can you do?
Your letters have made a world of difference in the fight to end the Omak Suicide Race. Sponsors like Crown Royal and Wal-Mart withdrew their support completely in 2005. Almost every other sponsor, including Coors Beer, Pace Picante Sauce, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco and Wrangler Jeans, have said in letters they do not condone the Suicide Race, only the Omak Stampede. They have been directed in this response by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), a national sponsor of rodeo events (similar to NASCAR for car racing) which says the Stampede and Suicide Race are unrelated events.

But just a glance at the official materials from Omak Stampede, Inc., shows all these claims are false. The official merchandise, logos and letterhead of the Omak Stampede feature the Suicide Race. The press release announcing results of the 2004 Suicide Race was issued by Omak Stampede, Inc. on paper with header that reads Omak Stampede, Inc., a drawing of horses running down a steep cliff, and adjacent text that reads "Featuring the World Famous Suicide Race."

Sadly, even though three horses died in 2004’s event, the press release leads with the boast "The first of four rolls in the 2004 World Famous Suicide Race was one of the best individual races ever, as 15 horses made it into the arena with riders aboard." Read the press release.

Take just a few minutes to call the following people today to demand that the race be cancelled right away so that no other horses or riders are injured or killed. If you can, follow up your phone call with an e-mail or a letter.

Call the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and ask that it use its influence as a national organization to pressure the town of Omak to cease this brutal race.

The PRCA has repeatedly said they do not sanction the Suicide Race, and that it is unrelated to the Stampede rodeo, which they do sanction and sponsor. However, it is unclear how sponsorship funds are actually spent considering both the Omak Stampede and Suicide Race are consistently marketed and managed together.

View the Omak Stampede and World Famous Suicide Race home page to see the marketing for yourself.

The PRCA claims animal welfare is a major initiative of theirs. If that were the case, they would not be affiliated so closely with such a brutal event. Ask the PRCA to do the right thing and pull their sanctioning of the Omak Stampede until the Suicide Race is stopped.

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
Keith Martin, Interim CEO
Phone: 719.593.8840
E-mail: prorodeo@prorodeo.com
Fax: 719.548.4876
Write to: 101 Pro Rodeo Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80919-2301

Call Omak Mayor Dale Sparber and tell him you don’t support the Suicide Race. Let Mayor Sparber know that although the Omak Stampede and Indian Encampment may be events that showcase the heart of his town to the rest of the world, the Suicide Race only shows Omak’s heart to be greedy, uncaring and cruel. Tell him to put a stop to this barbaric event once and for all.

Dale Sparber, Mayor of Omak
Phone: 509.826.1170
E-mail: mayor@omakcity.com
Write to:
2 North Ash Street
PO Box 72
Omak, WA 98841

Call the Omak Stampede and Suicide Race organizers and the Owners and Jockeys Association (the group that takes entries for the race) and tell them to stop treating horses like disposable objects.

Their argument for continuing the Suicide Race is for the sake of Native American tradition. Yet the race was devised in 1935 by an Omak furniture salesman—who was also a Stampede publicity chair—to bring more tourists and their dollars to Omak. The 12 local tribes that comprise the Colville Confederated Tribes never held a race in Omak, at night, on a treacherously steep hill, running multiple horses repeatedly under perilous conditions.

Even if the event was adopted as a new “tradition,” animal cruelty has no place in the traditions of a modern society. Dog fighting, for example, is a “sport” that has been taking place in cultures around the world for hundreds of years. Yet this gruesome tradition of forcibly training an animal to savagely perform for entertainment is now condemned publicly in all 50 states.

Omak Stampede and Suicide Race Board
Jim Hensarling, President
Phone: 509.826.1983
Toll-Free: 1.800.993.6625
E-mail: stampede@northcascades.net
Write to:
PO Box 2028
Omak, WA 98841

Owners and Jockeys Association
Pete Palmer, President
Phone: 509-634-2577
E-mail: pete.palmer@colvilletribes.com

Thank you for your help in ending this dangerous race.

Return to Omak Suicide Race

Return to Current Projects