TOP LEFT PHOTO BY MIKE RASTELLI; TOP RIGHT PHOTO BY KATHY ANN GREGG
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Berkleigh Blue Hale (left), granddaughter of Kayo Welles, carries Old Glory at the spring rodeo. Mutton bustin' (right) is how many young riders start.
he grand entry has come and gone, the National Anthem has been sung, all heads were bowed for the invocation, the military veterans received a standing ovation … and then a hush comes over the capacity crowd.
All eyes are on the bucking chutes where the first event is about to start—bareback riding. Will it be National Finals Rodeo qualifiers Tim O’Connell, R.C. Landingham or Tanner Aus, or a rookie looking to make his mark? The chute opens, the bronc jumps—and the 2018 Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo has begun! This Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association event is an institution in the Sunshine State. It is one of the longest-running professional rodeos in Florida, often performing to soldout crowds. And from March 8-11, organizers in Arcadia will be doing the 90th such event, and in a new home—the $7 million Mosaic Arena. Don T. Hall, president of the Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo Association for the past 16 years, says: “We strive to be as good as the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. If you don’t believe me, just ask one of the cowboys!”
The 2015 Arcadia rodeo saw Spencer Wright draw Medicine Woman as his saddle bronc, for instance, and his ride garnered him a score of 92 points, his career best, an arena record and the second-highest score EVER in this event. The next year witnessed Shane Hanchey break the arena record, held since the early 1980s, in the tie-down roping event, with a time of 8.5 seconds. Both cowboys are regular National Finals Rodeo qualifiers, and Hanchey took home the 2013 win from Las Vegas.
A TOTALLY VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION, THE ASSOCIATION PROVIDED NEARLY $60,000 IN DONATIONS TO LOCAL GROUPS.
And the cowboys do love coming to Arcadia every March. It attracts top competitors from all over the nation, and even other countries. Frontier Rodeo Co. from Winnie, Texas, is the long-standing stock contractor, and its stock is nothing short of AWESOME! And with an annual payout of more than $100,000, the big names come to ride the best stock and take home a big paycheck.
The Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo starts the day with the Shoot-Out Gang, a bunch of hard-drinking, guntoting rowdies who shoot up the arena while the less-than-virtuous dancehall ladies kick their legs and dance. Each year the script changes, but they always delight the audience. Next up is the oh-so-popular mutton bustin’, where 3-to-6-year-old cowboys/ cowgirls climb onto the backs of woolly sheep to win the $50 reward for going the farthest into the arena, and get their picture taken with the pretty rodeo queens.
The barrelman entertainment will again be provided by Keith Isley, repeat PRCA Entertainer of the Year. With the inauguration of the new Mosaic Arena, be prepared for loads of additional entertainment and rodeo spectacles. And you may even be able to meet the recently crowned Miss Rodeo America 2018, who is Florida’s own Keri Sheffield. Once the dust has settled after the close of the spring rodeo, the Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo Association plans to sponsor many additional events. It already hosts the Memorial Day weekend barrel race, the annual Arcadia F LO R I D A C O U NTRYM A G A Z I N E . C O M
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