Gayland Ward wins top cookoff honors

The Gayland Ward Chuckwagon Team of Dawn took home top honors Saturday at the 15th annual Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon Cookoff.

Led by head cook Gayland Ward, the team had the first place Wagon & Camp as well as first place in Overall Cooking on the way to racking up enough points to win the Best Overall award.

Officials with the Saints’ Roost Museum, which sponsors the event, were pleased with this year’s cookoff.
“I thought it went well and was well attended,” said Museum Vice President of Finance Genella Eads. “The trade show seemed like the best we’ve ever had.”

The second annual Junior Cookoff the day before the big event drew six contestants, who were paired with experienced wagon teams to prepare potatoes for the cooks’ dinner Friday night. Cire Jauregue, age 10, from

Clarendon won first place for the second year in a row and was teamed with the Bar H Chuckwagon Team. Madison Allen, age 8, from Amarillo and the Honey Do Spoiler Wagon were second, and 10-year-old Hannah Hommel of Clarendon and the C4B Wagon came in third.

Following the Junior Cookoff, an estimated 155 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.

“It rained Friday night, but everyone was so glad to see the rain that it did not bother a soul,” Eads said.
Of the 500 tickets that were available for Saturday’s main cookoff, all of them were sold.

The 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.

Ten wagons served a menu of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, beans, and cobbler. Prizes totaling $3,250 were paid out to the winners.
Complete results were:

Overall Wagon & Cooking: 1) Gayland Ward Wagon of Dawn.
Overall Cooking: 1) Gayland Ward, 2) Rising W Chuckwagon of Happy, 3) C4B Chuckwagon of Amarillo, and 4) Honey-Do-Spoiler Wagon of Pampa.
Best Wagon Camp: 1) Gayland Ward, 2) C4B, 3) Star Bar Outfit of Hereford, and 4) CO Ranch of Quanah.
Best Meat: 1) Rising W, 2) C4B, 3) Bar H Chuckwagon of Clarendon, and 4) Honey-Do-Spoiler.
Best Beans: 1) Honey-Do-Spoiler, 2) Gayland Ward, 3) Rising W, and 4) CO Ranch.
Best Potatoes: 1) T Half Circle of Silverton, 2) Gayland Ward, 3) CO Ranch, and 4) McFall Wagon of Pampa.
Best Bread: 1) Rising W, 2) Gayland Ward, 3) Honey-Do-Spoiler, and 4) Cocklebur Camp of Odessa.
Best Dessert: 1) C4B, 2) Gayland Ward, 3) T Half Circle, and 4) CO Ranch.

Wagon Judges this year were selected by the teams from among themselves, and Food Judges were under the direction of Tashia Duncan.

Dean Hawkins was the winner of the Kevin Johnson merchandise, and Royce Butler won the James Owens Handmade Boots.