This week, the transformation of the Columbia Expo Center will begin. The mats will be pulled up, and the hardened ground will be busted up in preparation for The Marion County Cattlemen’s Association 67th Annual Rodeo.
The rodeo is set for the weekend of March 11-12 with fun, exciting activities and events scheduled. Doors will open at 6 p.m., and the activities will begin at 7:30 p.m. According to Marketing Director Lauren Baughman, the best seats are higher up because the bleachers are at ground level
The event is sanctioned by the Tri-State Rodeo Association and is the first one of the season where participants compete and rack up points through November.
This year, there will be several local competitors, including Melania Sanders, Lexie Bacon, Gracelynn Stringer, Sophie Beisel, Kinsley Sullivan and Sam Mitchell. The girls will participate in breakaway roping and/or barrel racing as those are the events that are limited to female participants. The other events, bull riding, bareback riding, saddle bronc, team roping, calf roping and steer wrestling, are for male contestants.
The calf scramble will be held for ages 6 to 12. There is no need to register for this event, and children can participate at the moment the scramble is announced. A calf will be let loose in the arena. The calf will run because it doesn't want to be touched, and it's being chased by a swarm of children. The calf will have a ribbon attached to its tail. The child that grabs the ribbon is the winner. This is a way children can actively take part in the rodeo.
One way for adults to participate is the wild cow milking. This is a nonprofessional event where teams of four catch a wild mama cow, hold it and milk it, then run the bucket with any amount of milk back to the judge. The first team to reach the judge with milk is the winner. Teams must register ahead of time for this event.
This year's halftime specialty act will be Rider Kiesner and Bethany Iles Rodeo Entertainment. These two have toured together for about five years. They do trick roping and trick riding as well as acts with fire. Kiesner can even use a whip to cut a flower out of Iles's mouth. The couple won the 2020 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Dress Act of the Year.
While the competitors bring their own horses for most of the events, Bearden Pro Rodeo Company, a Mississippi stock contractor, provides the bulls, bucking horses and calves.
Food and vendors will be available at the rodeo. Concessions do not accept cards. Advanced tickets are available at Town & Country Feed, Barrett’s Garden Center, Boot Country in Hattiesburg and at the Expo Center for $10 for adults and $5 for children. Tickets can also be purchased at the door for $12 for adults and $6 for children. Children under 6 are free. The association voted not to increase prices this year despite rising costs so that families can afford to join in the fun.
The association is a non-profit organization and uses the proceeds from the rodeo to fund scholarships. The scholarships are available to children or grandchildren of members who are in their first year of college. They also support 4-H programs, and the Marion County Open Beef Show that is held each January. Last year, they helped Miss Rodeo Mississippi go to Las Vegas to compete in Miss Rodeo America.
Board member Kenny Price II said the purpose of the group is to keep rodeos alive.
Interested parties can join the Mississippi Cattlemen's Association for a fee of $50. If you so designate, $10 of that goes to the Marion County chapter. There are no requirements for membership. Members are eligible for the scholarships, receive a monthly magazine, support legislative issues that concern cattlemen and get to bring their family to the yearly steak dinner at the annual meeting. -
