PRYOR — The message is simple and direct: The tradition continues.

After a one-year hiatus, the Legendary Bushyhead Pasture Roping and Barrel Race is being resurrected.

Yes, the same tradition begun by Clem McSpadden.

But the tradition will not continue on his beloved 282-acre Bushyhead spread along Highway 66 between Chelsea and Claremore. Nor will it carry Clem’s brand.

The spirit of Clem’s event is moving on down Route 66 to Bristow, where over the Labor Day weekend the ropin’ and ridin’ will continue at the Brewster Ranch.

When Clem died on July 7, 2008, his widow, Donna, promised to continue the big event that he launched in the mid-1980s.

The final go-round at Bushyhead was staged that Labor Day.

But there was no cattle boss to steer the event last year.

That’s when Cas Salley stepped into the ring as the event producer.

He found a new home and new spirit, teaming up with Mackey Tully as well as Clark and Deborah Brewster. They dropped any official connection to Bushyhead and to Clem, but kept the basic premise.

The Brewsters operate the 3,500-acre ranch, complete with the recently completed Brewster Ranch Arena, a world-class indoor facility that is expected to host a variety of ranch events in the future.

But it is the future of the Pasture Roping and Barrel Race legend that has cowboys and rodeo people in a five-state area talking.

Clem’s 101-foot score will still be there. The barrel race will still be an endurance test. And it will still be a Labor Day happening.

When Clem brought the pasture roping to his ranch a quarter-century ago, having seen a similar competition in Texas, he went the Lone Star state one foot better on the score, or starting point from which the steer takes off away from the roping team.

Clem always liked that extra foot.

And, he took pride in the barrel race, run in an open pasture with the third barrel being a pond dam.

The Brewster Ranch in Creek County promises a similar pattern, producing more than a traditional barrel race … a true test of stamina for horse and rider.

Salley has expanded the scope of the pasture ropin’ extravaganza, bringing in a World Series Team Roping event to the indoor arena, an AQHA trail ride and a trade show.

A portion of the proceeds from the weekend will go to the Clem McSpadden OSU Animal Science Endowment Fund.

The Labor Day tradition is scheduled Sept. 4-6.