Mississippi State University’s Horse Park was filled with cowboy hats, chaps and lassos last weekend during the Starkville Rotary Club’s annual Rotary Rodeo fundraiser hosted in conjunction with the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association.
The rodeo is the Rotary Club’s largest fundraiser, bringing in nearly $20,000 a year to fund its numerous local philanthropies. In recent years the proceeds have been used to support the Tuition Guarantee Program that helps high school graduates from Oktibbeha County attend East Mississippi Community College tuition free. 
Rotary Club board member Trey Breckenridge said  it will take about another week for the club to know the amount of money raised this year. According to Breckenridge, money made this year will likely go into supporting a variety of the Rotary Club’s programs as opposed to a single effort such as the Tuition Guarantee Program.
“This is by no means a complete list, but the funds will support things like Boy Scouts and Habitat for Humanity,” Breckenridge said.
Even though the Rotary Club holds the event as a charitable fundraiser, it was in every respect a full-fledged rodeo, complete with professional cowboys from all across the nation, expensive, well-bred livestock and the antics of a barrel bellied clown. 
The Rotary Rodeo is an important stop for many professional cowboys and cowgirls who compete in rodeos almost every weekend to earn qualifying points and cash. Riders from as far as Canada climbed onto bulls and broncs under the arena ceiling to pit themselves against animals weighing hundreds of pounds of pure muscle until that all-important eight second mark.    
Tanner Phipps from Dalton, Georgia won the bareback riding event, scoring 80 points. Clay Elliott from Nanton, Alberta Canada won the saddle bronc riding with 86 points and Wyatt Rogers won the bull riding event with 81 points. 
In order to even score, the cowboys had to stay on top of the animals for at least eight seconds. After that, scores were decided by judges who take in account the riders’ form and even the animal’s own personal score of how hard it is to handle. If the livestock did not buck for the entirety of the eight seconds, the riders were given an opportunity to try again with a different animal. 
Dacia Horne from Lebanon, Tennessee won the barrel race at 15.11 seconds, followed by Morgan Breaux from Tomball, Texas at 15.13 and then Benette Little from Ardmore, Oklahoma at 15.14 seconds. 
Barrel racing involves riding a horse in a figure eight around three barrels spaced out in the arena as fast as possible. Time penalties are made if the barrels are touched or knocked over. It was the only event last weekend in which girls participated, which is typical for most rodeos. 
Tim Pharr from Resaca, Georgia won the tie-down roping event where he lassoed a running cow from atop his horse and then jumped off to tie the livestocks’ legs together in 8.1 seconds. 
Rosse Lowry from Summerville, Georgia and Stephen Britnell from Knoxville, Tennessee won the team roping event with a time of 6.1 seconds. In team roping, one cowboy has to lasso the head of the steer while the second one lassos the hind feet, which requires steady coordination between the two cowboys.
Riley Duvall won the steer wrestling event when he leapt from his horse onto a running steer and tackled the animal to the ground in 4.1 seconds. 
“I think this weekend was comparable to past years,” Breckenridge said. “We had a great turnout Saturday, it was a packed house.”