April 21, 2008

ALTENBURG -- Plans are being finalized for the eighth annual Perry County Community Rodeo, which will be held Friday, June 6 and Saturday, June 7 at the East Perry Community Fairgrounds in Altenburg.

The eight events that will make up the rodeo competition will be bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, cowgirl barrel racing, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, calf roping, team roping, and bull riding.

Corporate sponsors for the rodeo are Altenburg Hardwood Lumber Company and the Bank of Missouri.

In addition to the official events, the calf scramble and mutton busting (sheep riding) events for kids will return prior to the regular rodeo events. This year the children with the top ten scores each evening in mutton busting will compete in a final round during the intermission of the official rodeo.

A petting zoo and pony rides have been added this year to help keep the youngsters entertained. Also new during the intermission this year will be the "Dive for a Diamond", an event for which women can enter for a chance to be drawn to compete for a diamond each night.

The rodeo is sanctioned by the International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA), which is based in Oklahoma City and holds it’s annual International Finals Rodeo (IFR) there each January. The IPRA is the second largest rodeo sanctioning body in the world. Being one of the highest paying rodeos on the IPRA circuit, the event draws many of the top money winners in the association. The contestants at the Altenburg rodeo over its first seven years have included many current and former IPRA champions as well as past competitors from the PRCA National Finals, the PBR, and the World’s Toughest Cowboy competitions.

Serving as the barrel man at this year’s rodeo will be Dusty Myers, the "Unwound Rodeo Clown" from Jumpertown, Mississippi, who has been a bullfighter at the Altenburg event the past two years. He started bullfighting at age fourteen and has worked as a bullfighter at the IFR four times and holds the record as the youngest bullfighter to work the finals. Over the past few years, Dusty donned the baggy pants and grabbed a microphone to start working in the barrel. Dusty is ready to return to visit all his friends and put on a really good show for the audience. Announcer Brandon McLagan from Muskogee, Oklahoma, who worked 108 rodeo and bull riding performances in 21 states during 2007, will join him on this year’s rodeo entertainment team.

Johnson & Jordan Rodeo Company of rural Jackson will again serve as the stock contractors for the event. They own a string of outstanding stock including bulls and broncs that have compete at the International Finals Rodeo, the PRCA National Finals, Cheyenne Frontier Days, and in several Professional Bull Riders (PBR) events.

Musical entertainment following the rodeo performance will be provided by "On Tap" on Friday night and by "Gypsy Orphan" on Saturday night. Miss Rodeo USA 2008, Kristin Scott of Anderson, Alabama, will participate in the rodeo and lead its Grand Entry. Rodeo performances are scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm each evening with pre-rodeo activities starting at 6:30pm and gates opening at 5:30 pm on Friday and 4:00 pm on Saturday. The rodeo is a joint effort of the East Perry Community Fair, the East Perry County Jaycees, and the Perryville Area Chamber of Commerce, who use the proceeds of the rodeo to fund their community projects. For further information visit the web at www.perryvillemo.com/chamber/rodeo.