The 54th annual Jefferson County Rodeo, held June 13-14, started with a slow night on June 13 due to wet weather followed by a record-setting crowd the next evening under clear skies, rodeo chairman Doug Goforth said.
He said rain on June 13 forced organizers to cancel the rodeo portion of the event, which was held at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in Hillsboro, but other scheduled activities went on that night.
“Unfortunately, (on Friday night) it poured here, and the rodeo performance was canceled,” he said. “The rain would not let up. It was not safe conditions. We still had the bands and the vendors and other (activities).”
The bands 90 Proof Acoustics and The Broseph Tucker Band performed that evening.
People flocked to the event the evening of June 14, though, Goforth said.
“(On June 14), we had record-setting crowds of about 11,000,” he said. “Parking and the grounds were a little squishy, but the fairgrounds were in good shape.”
In addition to the live music and rodeo featuring bronc and bull riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling and calf roping, the event included more than 40 vendors, a mechanical bull and pony rides and other children’s activities, he said.
On June 14, musician Scott Kemp performed, followed by the Johnathan Braddy Band.
Goforth said that even though the rodeo competition got washed out on June 13, a significant number of people came to the fairgrounds for the other activities.
“We had about 1,000 people on (June 13),” he said.
Parking at the field in front of the fairground became limited because of the wetness, but shuttle rides were available for those who parked at Hillsboro R-3 School District school parking lots, Goforth said.
“We always have shuttles from Hillsboro schools,” he said. “Hillsboro schools are gracious to let us use their parking lots.”
Goforth said a problem at the start of the June 14 festivities led to an inspirational moment at the fairgrounds.
“During the playing of the national anthem, we lost our sound system and the speakers went dead,” he said. “The crowd picked it up and continued singing – didn’t miss a beat.”
Goforth said the incident was so touching that next year organizers may again call on attendees to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” without accompaniment.
Mia Fulhorst, 1, of Festus won the Cutest Cowgirl Contest, and Tommy Arnold, 2, of Hillsboro won the Cutest Cowboy Contest.
Goforth said June 16 that proceeds from the event were still to be totaled and he did not have an estimate for how much the event raised, but organizers believe the Hillsboro Community Civic Club will turn a profit even with the rainout.
“It does look like we’ll end up making a little,” he said.
The Hillsboro Community Civic Club sponsors the rodeo and uses money from the event to put on the following year’s rodeo and other events and to support local charitable causes, he said.
Click to see more pictures from the event:
