The MSU Horse Park and the Starkville Rotary Club will put  on their annual Rotary Classic Rodeo on Feb. 13 and 14 in the Horse Park arena. 
The Rotary Classic Rodeo is the Rotary Clubs primary fundraiser. According to the event’s website, rodeo.starkvillerotary.org, the event brings in nearly $20,000 a year.  
“The Starkville Rotary Club has hosted the rodeo for eight years,” Trey Breckenridge, member of the Rotary Club Board of Directors said. “We use the proceeds to support numerous community, educational and humanitarian activities. One of the many ways we give back to the community.”
Bricklee Miller, who helps operate the Horse Park, said the rodeo will have both timed and ‘rough stock’ events such as tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, saddle and bareback bronco riding and bull riding. 
All events are sanctioned through the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, while the ladies’ barrel racing is similarly sanctioned through the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association. Professional cowboys from the all around will travel to MSU Horse Park to compete for points crucial to qualifying for later rodeos as well as for money. 
Miller said the Rotary Classic Rodeo has been very successful in the past and said he expects this year’s to be as good as ever.
Miller said there are two factors the Rotary Classic Rodeo has perfected. The first one is the quality of the livestock that will be the center of the Rodeo’s many competitions. The second factor, the dirt itself, is a little less obvious a bet more abundant. 
As for the livestock, this year the Rotary Classic Rodeo has contracted Pete Carr Pro Rodeo to provide top tier bucking stock. The bull cowboys will attempt to ride for eight seconds on a seven year old black and white paint bull named Line Man, who has been selected to buck at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas for each of the past three seasons. 
The bucking horse, Dirty Jacket, comes from a line of well known stock and is the fourth Pete Carr animal to win the Horse of the Year title. Last year only two PRCA rides that scored above 90 points and both were with Dirty Jacket.
To this end, the MSU Horse Park has been awarded three years in a row with the Justin Boot Best Footing Award, which is voted on by the cowboy contestants that travel across the country. 
Adult Tickets for the rodeo are $15 at the door or $12 in advance. Friday doors open at 6 p.m. and the action starts at 7 p.m. 
Children under 12 years of age can enter for free that night, and children under three years of age can enter for free Saturday night. For the kids, Saturday from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. a petting zoo will be set up prior to the main events kicking off for the night at 7 p.m.