56th Annual Crockett Lion’s Club Rodeo to Start Thursday, May 11
By Cody Thompson
Messenger Reporter
CROCKETT – Slap on your spurs, put on your pearl-snap shirt and get ready for three days of bull riding and bronco busting because the 56th Annual Crockett Lion’s Club Rodeo is right around the corner. The event starts on Thursday, May 11 and continues through Saturday, May 13 at the Porth Ag Arena in Crockett.
“The rodeo is always a lot of fun for us and the community and we’re hoping for a good turnout this year,” Crockett Lion’s Club chairman Heath Murff told the Messenger.
For over 50 years, the rodeo has attracted some of the best cowboys and cowgirls the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association has to offer to compete against the world’s best bucking stock.
“We’ve got a great lineup of cowboys and cowgirls for this year’s rodeo,” Murff said. “A lot of them are regulars that have been coming here for over 20 years.”
This year’s rodeo will also feature bull riding newcomer Boudreaux Campbell of Lovelady.
“This isn’t my first year to ride in the rodeo, but it is my first year to do it as a pro,” Campbell told the Messenger on Friday.
Campbell has been involved in the rodeo circuit since the age of four and was brought in as a member of the PRCA in 2016.
“I’ve been doing this my whole life,” Campbell said. “I’ve done everything from mutton busting up to bull riding.”
Campbell is scheduled to ride on Saturday, May 13.
The rodeo starts at 7:30 p.m. each night. The riding stock is provided by the Andrew Rodeo Company in Ponca City, Okla.
“The Lion’s Club really wants to thank the Andrew Rodeo Company for being so loyal to the rodeo,” Murff said. “They’ve been providing the riding stock for the rodeo for close to 30 years now.”
There will be no rodeo queen ceremony at this year’s Lion’s Club rodeo, according to Murff.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get a big enough turnout from the county for rodeo queen this year so we had to cancel it,” Murff said.
This is the second time in the rodeo’s 56 year run that there has not been a rodeo queen ceremony, Murff said.
“We’re hoping that we have more of the girls in the county interested so we can bring the ceremony back,” Murff said.
This year, patrons can buy drawing tickets for a chance to win a brand-new John Deere Gator all-terrain vehicle.
Drawing ticket prices are $5 for individual tickets, $20 for five and $100 for 50. A booth will be set up in front of the arena where tickets can be purchased.
Admission will be $15 for adults and $7 for children 6 to 12-years-old. Children under the age of 6 enter free of charge.
All proceeds from the rodeo are placed back into the community through the Lion’s Club’s many community service projects, according to Murff.
“The rodeo is our (the Lion’s Club) biggest fundraiser every year,” Murff said. “The more people that come to support us means we get more money to put back into the community.”
To learn more about the rodeo or other upcoming Lions Club events, visit the Crockett Lions Club Facebook page.
