8 Roles that are Crucial to Hosting a National Championship Rodeo
It takes a village of hard-working folks to put on a national championship rodeo! We want to share with you a few of the important roles that are necessary to help put on the RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Kissimmee. Here are 8 roles that are crucial to hosting a national championship rodeo!
Meet your 2017 RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo Contracted Personnel
Rodeo Announcers – Bob Tallman & Roger Mooney
Secretary – Jackie Higlin
Assistant Secretary – Rebecca Martindale
Timers – Kim Sutton & Jennie Murray
Barrelman – JJ Harrison
Bullfighters – Kenny Bergeron & Scotty Spencer
Pickup Men – Jason Bottoms & Brent Sutton
Music Director – Benje Bendele III
You can read their titles, but what does each role really have to do?
Rodeo Announcer
A rodeo announcer’s job is to educate, entertain, engage and inspire the rodeo fans in the stands. During a rodeo, they keep the fans on the edge of their seats by describing the event, the rules, the livestock, the contestants and their stats as well as informing the crowd of the contestants’ times or scores during each event. They are a wealth of rodeo knowledge! They must be quick on their feet, witty and possess a clear, powerful voice.
Rodeo Secretary
If rodeo gave out a most valuable player award, it would go to the rodeo secretary every time! These are the hard-working folks that the crowd will never see. They help anticipate problems and provide solutions, keep contestants in line, tally the results, write checks, lend a hand where needed and whatever else gets thrown their way!
Assistant Rodeo Secretary
In this case, the title is sort of self-explanatory. However, this role is still very vital to the success of any given performance. Sometimes even your most valuable player needs a hand, and the assistant secretary is there for just that! She can juggle whatever comes her way when the rodeo secretary needs some backup.
Timers
Like two peas in a pod, there are always two timers during each rodeo performance. These roles typically work hand-in-hand with the rodeo secretary and the timed event boss, keeping a clock on all timed events. These two roles must be very well in tune with everything taking place during a rodeo as well as fair in their timed recordings. They use stopwatches to record elapsed time for each ride, and also ensure that, during rough stock events, the riders remain on the animal for eight full seconds.
Barrelmen
Meet the man in the can! A barrelman entertains the crowd during the “downtime” in the bull riding event. While bulls are loading in, or if they aren’t cooperating, the barrelman provides some comedic relief between riders. He also is usually found in the center of the arena inside a custom-made barrel designed to protect him should a bull hit it. In essence, his job is to deter and distract the bulls!
Bullfighters
It’s a scary and tough job, but someone has to do it! A bullfighter is an athlete who protects the bull rider after he dismounts or gets bucked off a bull by distracting the bull. They try to direct the bull’s attention to the exit gate. They help the cowboy when needed. These men will literally step in the face of the bull to put themselves between the bull and the rider. Talk about brave!
Pickup Men
We like to think of them as saviors on the dirt! In the rough stock events, once the buzzer has gone off, the pickup men race to the
cowboys and help them gently get to safety. Mounted on horseback, they ride up, relieve the cowboy, release the flank strap and help get the livestock to the exit gate. Cowboys sure are thankful for these men!
Music Director
Well, you gotta have some good rodeo jams, right? We think so! A music director controls the audio, sound and selects tunes to keep the crowd excited!
As you can see, putting on a quality rodeo takes a lot of hard-working individuals! There are even more roles beyond what we mentioned, like the chute boss, arena director and stock supervisor – they also play a key role in the success of our rodeo. To see it all come together in action, we hope you’ll join us for the RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo!
Courtesy of RNCFR.com