News and Notes from the Rodeo Trail, March 5
San Antonio’s Stock Show & Rodeo, which took place Feb. 8-25, was more popular than ever. Eighteen of 21 rodeo performances this year were at full capacity with more than 16,500 tickets sold, amounting to a new record for total rodeo attendance at the AT&T Center. The San Antonio Rodeo produces an estimated economic impact of more than $250 million, according to a study conducted by Trinity University in San Antonio.
The Arcadia All Fla Championship Rodeo hosts its signature “Granddaddy of ’Em All” four-day event March 8-11 in the new, $9 million Mosaic Arena, next to the Turner Agri-Civic Center in Arcadia – about an hour’s drive from Fort Myers. The venue will have 7,796 seats – nearly one for every Arcadia resident – in 107,000 square feet, with a covered arena. By next spring it will also be home to the new Florida Cowboy Museum. What attendees might not expect are a design that eliminates support beams that often block views, more than 20 giant ceiling fans to ensure a degree of coolness on hot Florida days, and a 270-panel skylight system that minimizes shadows and lighting costs in the second-largest clear-span Butler Building ever constructed in the United States. The project’s next phase, expected to be complete in 2019, will include the rodeo museum, retail space, a kitchen, offices and stables.
A capital budget spending plan passed by the Washington State House of Representatives last week includes funding for the Ellensburg (Wash.) Rodeo Arena. The capital spending plan allocates $100,000 for the Rodeo Arena project in the Washington State Department of Agriculture section of the budget dedicated to improving safety and access at fairs, according to a news release from Rep. Matt Manweller’s office. “This funding would get the ball rolling to make the Ellensburg Rodeo grounds ADA accessible and make needed repairs and upgrades,” said Manweller in a press release. “The rodeos and fairs in our region are important to our local economies. For the rodeos and fairs to continue to be a strong draw we want to make sure we have high-quality facilities.” The 2018 Ellensburg Rodeo is scheduled for Aug. 31 through Sept. 3.
PRCA Freestyle Bullfights will take place March 15-17 at the Southeastern Livestock Exposition in Montgomery, Ala., after the bull riding each night. The rodeo begins at 7 p.m. (CT) March 15-16, and there are two performances, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., March 17. The bullfights will take place after the 7 o’clock performance March 17. The contestants in the Montgomery bullfights will be Cody Emerson, Wayne Ratley and Dakota Knight. All three bullfighters will compete against one bull during each of the three performances. They will be competing for $6,000 in prize money. “There’s more adrenaline in this sport than there is in any sport in the world,” said bullfighter Blue Jeanes, clown-bullfighter representative-elect for the PRCA. “We’re hoping to have at least 15 events this year and maybe even more than that. We’re trying to grow the program and get the ball rolling and do it right. The bullfighting deal is growing and there’s dang sure a market for it. We want ours to be the biggest and the best.”
ProRodeoLive.com will broadcast the Arcadia All-Fla Championship Rodeo at 2 p.m. (ET), March 9-11.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“In California, how I was taught to rope was to be conservative, no mistakes and outlast them. In Texas, it’s more of a gun slinging deal, and that’s what I had to learn how to do to win here.”
– Tie-down roper Ryle Smith after winning the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Feb. 24.
Courtesy of PRCA