The sun beat down on freshly pressed cowboy hats and reflected off polished belt buckles.
Cowboy boots crunched gravel while moseying across the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.
It could only mean one thing: the Jefferson County Rodeo had rolled back into Hillsboro.
The annual rodeo, which drew about 11,500 fans June 12 and 13, featured events such as bronc riding, bull riding, barrel racing and calf roping. It also offered concessions, a mechanical bull, pony rides for children, live music and other activities.
Holding tight
If you ask 29-year-old Jackson Smith if he’s good at bull riding, he might joke, “I can be when I wanna be.”
Smith is modest, having rodeoed since he was 19 and rodeoing professionally for the past three years. He’s currently competing for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the International Professional Bullriding Association.
At this year’s Jefferson County Rodeo, he took home the grand prize in bull riding Friday night and placed second in another bull riding event Saturday night.
Smith said he grew up attending rodeos with his family and was particularly inspired by bull riders. He said he was given the glove of his favorite bull rider as a child. He still has it today.
Smith has competed at the Jefferson County Rodeo for years.
“You can’t really beat it,” Smith said. “There’s a big electric crowd.”
His pre-competition rituals include reading his Bible, stretching and drinking plenty of water, the latter becoming a critical ritual amid the heat.
While most consider bull riding dangerous, Smith views the sport with the mindset of a professional.
“Bull riding is so simple, you just gotta stay on,” he said. “Legs on the side and mind in the middle.”
‘Investing for the future’
The rodeo has been a fixture in Hillsboro for the past 55 years, bringing nights of traditional rodeo entertainment to Jefferson Countians, but the rodeo is “investing for the future,” said rodeo chairman Doug Goforth.
As well as a new electronic ticketing system, the rodeo rolled out additional seating (which was made out of recycled tires, as part of a grant from the Department of Natural Resources), two new LED television walls, paving parts of the fairgrounds with asphalt and property acquisition.
“I think that’s something that’s gonna be a part of our future going forward: utilizing technology to make things more convenient,” Goforth said. “And to a more fulfilling experience for fans.”
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