Dogwood Classic Rodeo begins Friday

By CHERIL VERNON

PALESTINE — Get your boots out and your cowboy hat cleaned up in time for the opportunity to watch professional bull riding and barrel racing in Palestine.

The Anderson County Youth Livestock Association will present the Dogwood Classic PRCA Rodeo at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Anderson County Youth Livestock Arena on U.S. 287 North.

The rodeo is sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and is part of Dodge Circuit Rodeo Series and the Heartland Pro Rodeo Series. The PRCA sanctions approximately 650 rodeos annually in the United States and Canada. Total prize money offered by PRCA rodeos exceeds $35 million each year. The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, the PRCA's premier championship event held each December in Las Vegas, offers one of the largest purses in professional sports. In 2005, the Wrangler NFR set a record, offering $5.25 million in total prize money. Prize money won by cowboys and cowgirls at the Dogwood Classic PRCA Rodeo will count toward qualifying for the Wrangler NFR.

The rodeo is produced by Classic Pro Rodeo of Waskom. Classic was voted Stock Contractor of the Year by the PRCA in 2003, and was nominated again in 2006. Classic will bring its champion bucking string to the Palestine rodeo. Many of the bucking horses and bulls have been featured at the National Finals Rodeo. This year, Classic Pro Rodeo will produce rodeos in six states.

Events include, bull riding, bronc riding, team roping, steer wrestling, calf-roping, and barrel racing.

Pre-rodeo activities will feature the Tejas Riders mounted equestrian drill team from Girl Scout Camp Bette Perot in Montalba. Local children will be invited to compete in the calf scramble, and Saturday night will feature the crowning of the Dogwood Classic PRCA Rodeo Queen and Princess for 2008.

All proceeds from the rodeo benefit the Anderson County Youth Livestock Association.

Advance tickets are available at Champion Dodge and Cavender's Boot City. Adult's tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the gate. Children 7-12 are $4 in advance and $5 at the gate.

Queen and Princess Competition

In less than a week, two young ladies will soon be crowned as Queen and Princess of the 2008 Dogwood Classic PRCA Rodeo. The 2007 Queen Shelby Ray and Princess Lacee Harris will crown the new “rodeo royalty.”

The crowning of the Queen and Princess will take place during the during the Saturday night performance of the rodeo.

Five young ladies are competing in the Rodeo Princess category while two ladies are competing for the title of Rodeo Queen. The competition took place on March 15. The contestants were judged on horsemanship, personal interview, and western attire.

The role of the Rodeo Queen and Princess is to be an ambassador for the sport of rodeo in general and to help promote their local rodeo. In that sprit, the contestants and their parents built a float for the Dogwood Trails Parade and placed second in their category.

Dogwood Sales and Rentals is the sponsor of the Rodeo Queen and Princess competition.

Girls participating in the Princess category include the following:

• Kristen Dickson — Kristen, 10, is the daughter of Brince and Kim Dickson.

She is in the fourth grade at Neches Elementary School. She plays basketball and softball, and enjoys riding her horse, Coco. She also is a member of Old Cayuga 4-H, where she shows a goat and a heifer.

• Bailie Hallam — Bailie, 9, is the daughter of Micheal and Tammie Killough. She is in the third grade at Westwood Elementary School. Bailie participates in 4-H and gymnastics. She likes riding her horse, Elvis.

• Taylor Mathis — Taylor, 12, is the daughter of Val and Ouida Mathis. She is in the seventh grade at Elkhart Middle School. She participates in volleyball and cross country. She enjoys competing in ranch rodeos.

• Ciara Parker — Ciara, 12, is the daughter of Bryan and Janelle Parker. She is in the 7th grade at Westwood Junior High School. She plays volleyball and basketball and runs track. She likes showing coon dogs, barrel racing and riding her horse, Kippy.

• Kelsee Webb — Kelsee, 10, is the daughter of Steve and Tami Webb. She is in the 5th grade at Slocum Elementary School. Kelsee likes riding her horse Blue. She also participates in basketball, and shows goats through Ioni Creek 4-H.

Girls in the Queen category include:

• Gabriella Brown — Gabriella, 14, is the daughter of Gary and Sonya Brown. She is in the 9th grade at Westwood High School where she competes in track and cross country and is a member of the drill team. She shows animals through Old Cayuga 4-H, and is a member of Westwood FFA. She competes in barrel racing and pole bending on her horse Junior.

• Hailley Wolf — Hailley, 18, daughter of Mark and Susie Wolf. She is a senior at Westwood High School. She is a member of Harmony Broyles Chapel 4-H and Westwood FFA.

She likes riding four wheelers and enjoys competing in barrel racing on her horse Cowboy.