Published Thursday, May 14, 2009
Cowetans join rodeo pros for Cattlemen's show
The Times-Herald
There will be bull riding, barrel racing, roping, wrestling and bronc riding at the Coweta County Fairgrounds Friday night and Saturday, and several Cowetans will be right in the thick of it.
Sharpsburg resident Corey Dickerson will be among the bull riding competitors Saturday, and several Coweta ladies will be competing in the barrel racing event at the 19th annual Coweta Cattlemen's Association Rodeo Friday night and Saturday.
Dickerson, who has lived in Coweta since 1979, started "getting on bulls" about 16 years ago, but he had to take several years off to let his body recover from the punishing sport, and he only started rodeoing again last year.
Nineteen-year-old Lauren Dennis got her first horse in 2003 and has been competing in barrel racing events for two-and-a-half years, but this is only her second rodeo.
Other local barrel racers are Mandy Jo Brooks, Alena Reece, Jessica Durrett and Lindsea Jeffrey.
The Cowetans will join rodeo professionals from 16 states.
Shawn Minor, named the 2008 All-Around World Champion cowboy, will be competing in bareback and saddle bronc riding tonight, said Frank Sullivan, rodeo co-chairman. Twenty-four of the rodeo competitors are ranked in the top 15 in the country in their events, Sullivan said. Nearly all competitors are members of the International Professional Rodeo Association.
This year's rodeo is part of the 2009 Kayak Rodeo Series, which includes 36 rodeos in eight states.
Events include bull riding, calf roping, bareback and saddle bronc riding, team roping, steer wrestling and barrel racing. There will also be professional rodeo clowns and plenty of vendors.
Gates open at 7 p.m. each night and the rodeo starts at 8. Admission is $10 for adults and $6 for children ages 4 to 12. Friday night is family night, with all children getting in at half price when accompanied by an adult. Saturday is "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" night, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the local Sue Verner Jones Foundation, which helps Coweta area breast cancer victims and their families.
Dickerson is a bull rider, not a horseman. "I've been on a horse or two here or there, but I don't own any or ride them on a regular basis," he said.
But it only took one trip to a bull riding practice pen to know it was for him.
Several work friends used to go to a practice pen in Covington, and one night, Dickerson decided to go with them.
"I paid my money to get on, for the heck of it, and got hooked," he said. For several years, "me and all of the guys I rodeo with used to go all over the Southeast, everywhere we could," competing in rodeos, he said. He took several years off after shoulder surgery, but last year, he decided to get back into bull riding.
Dennis spends nearly every weekend at various barrel racing shows.
Friday night, she and Sam, her 10-year-old American Quarter Horse, will perform with the Coweta County 4-H Drill Team. Saturday morning, it's off to Gay, Ga., for another barrel show.
Racing in a rodeo, though, is quite different than a barrel show, she said.
First, the atmosphere. Also, the ground the horses run on is a lot different -- in barrel shows, it is more manicured. "The pens are a lot different, and even the barrel pattern changes, depending on where the timers are set," Dennis said.
She hopes to make it as a pro one day. "I plan on going as far as I can," she said. "I'm trying to get a little bit more into the rodeo atmosphere."
When she got Sam, he had only been in barrel shows. "We are working on it ... we are taking it slowly and getting going and seeing where we go," Dennis said.
The Cattlemen's Association uses the money raised at the annual event to support the Coweta 4-H, the Cattlemen's Association scholarship program, and numerous other community projects and activities.
"We are excited to be a part of the 2009 Kayak Rodeo Series and look forward to a great event," said co-chairman Bart Cauthen. "We hope you'll come out for some great bull riding."
For more information, call the Coweta Extension Office at 770-254-2620.