Since 2004, the Starkville Rotary Club has held the annual Rotary Classic Rodeo at the nationally recognized Mississippi Horse Park, which won the Justin Boot Best Footing Award for the Southeastern Circuit.
The rodeo has grown significantly in the last 18 years and has become a major event for the community and businesses of Starkville, with an estimated $750,000 economic impact on Starkville businesses throughout the weekend. The Rotary Classic has become a hotspot for riders, with cowboys and cowgirls from 23 different states and Canada competing.
Even though one of the main goals of the rodeo is to have fun, the Starkville Rotary Club has made it clear that the proceeds are going back into the community. The Rotary Club donates the money made from the rodeo to various charities, including Habitat for Humanity and Oktibbeha Young Leaders, a local youth development activity and a project that distributes dictionaries to the public.
Though the rodeo was canceled in 2021 due to the pandemic, Starkville Rotary President John Forde pushed forward and said he was excited to be back at the Horse Park this year.
“This is the largest fundraiser that we do every year for our club, and in addition to being a PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) event, which literally brings in some of the best contestants in the world, we also have dozens of volunteers of our members who are there each night. We also have the opportunity to express to the community the kinds of projects that we support with Rotary. So, it’s really a great event, and I hope a lot of people will come out. We hated to miss last year, but we’re so excited that we’re able to have it again this year,” Forde said.
This year also saw the addition of an event called Women’s Breakaway Roping, in which cowgirls rope calves then dismount and tie the calves. In some cases, this can be done in as little as two or three seconds. Forde said he was excited the Rotary Club could add this event to the rodeo and hopes the audience will enjoy the show.
Although Breakaway Roping is new to the Starkville Rotary Classic, this event has been around for years. Women’s Breakaway Roping has seen a recent spike in interest by rodeos across the nation, which caught the attention of Sid Salter, past president of the Starkville Rotary and member of the rodeo planning committee.
“We watch the other rodeos around the region and around the country to look for events and activities that draw more people in. Obviously, we’re interested— as an organization that has men and women members— we’re interested in things that expand opportunities for young athletes. We’re excited about it. It’s the first time for that event, and this is one that we’ve seen be successful in other rodeos. We decided we want that in our lineup,” Salter said.
The Rotary Classic was held on Feb. 11 and 12 and saw the community come together to watch riders from across the nation that came to compete in Starkville. For most of the audience, this rodeo was a way back to normality and tradition after a tumultuous couple of years. Wesley Thompson, a resident of Starkville, attended the rodeo on Friday. He said he and his family had a great time at the rodeo.
“We’ve come maybe two other times. We love it; it’s something fun to bring the kids to and something different. I’m sure we’ll come back next year. Everybody needs to come see the rodeo at least once,” Thompson said.
The Horse Park was filled to the brim, with audience members having a blast watching the cowboys and cowgirls this weekend. The Rotary is thrilled with the success of the rodeo and the income it brought in for the community.

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Ashok Manick | The Reflector

After skipping the 2021 rodeo due to the pandemic, Starkville Rotary Club welcomed contestants and fans back to the Horse Park.