On Feb. 21-23, the Mississippi State University rodeo team will face bucking broncos, ferocious steers and fast calves. Block and Bridle is sponsoring a rodeo at the Mississippi Horse Park beginning at 7:30 every night.
The rodeo consists of nine riveting events: saddle bronc riding, bare back riding, calf roping, steer wrestling, team roping, barrel racing, girls break-away roping, goat tying and bull riding.
On Thursday and Friday night, competitions in every category will decide who participates in the short go-around on Saturday night.
On Saturday, the best 10 riders from each category will compete. The points received for all competitions will be tallied for a winner in each category, and a best all-around cowboy and best all-around cowgirl will be chosen.
“We are expecting a big crowd. In the past years, we’ve had big crowds, with last year’s Saturday night crowd being sold-out,” Brandi Jessee, chairperson of advertising for Block and Bridle, said.
The horse park holds approximately 2,500 people, so a sold-out crowd on Saturday night is packed.
There are 12 members on the MSU rodeo team, and they will compete against 359 students from other colleges.
The MSU rodeo team is part of the Ozark region in the National Intercollegiate Association. Twenty-one schools in the Ozark region participate, and all will be present for the Block and Bridle rodeo.
The favorite event of most spectators is usually the bull riding, which will be the last event of every evening, and the event with the most participants is the team roping.
“My favorite part is the action and the roar of the crowd. It’ll be good competition and a good show,” rodeo team member Ray Duncan said.
Duncan and Paula Touchstone, both MSU rodeo team members, went on to finals last year. Duncan placed fourth in the calf-roping competition, and Touchstone won the barrel racing.
Those who are victorious in the Block and Bridle rodeo, along with nine other Ozark region rodeos, will go on to compete in the Ozark regional finals in Oklahoma. The winners from regional competition will participate in the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo.
Other sponsors for the rodeo are Golden Triangle Large Animal Hospital, Marin Truck and Tractor, University Screenprint, Oktibbeha County Co-Op, Ramada Inn, Comfort Suites, Coca-Cola and Starkville Ford.
Tickets for the rodeo are $5 for adults and $3 for children under 12; however, there are special group rates. Five tickets for a group of five adults are only $15. Also, the family rate is $10 for a group of two adults and three children.