Three Rivers Shrine Club rodeo scheduled for weekend

Cowboys and cowgirls from across the nation will converge on Poplar Bluff this weekend to compete in the Three Rivers Shrine Club’s 12th annual championship rodeo.

The event will be held for the first time at the Black River Coliseum, with doors opening at 6 p.m. and the competition beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Proceeds from the event benefit the Three Rivers Shrine Club, and club members say it is one of their biggest fundraisers.

“The coliseum is a really big deal for us; it’s something we’ve wanted to do,” but were “afraid to take the leap,” said Greg Dortch, the club’s captain of the guard.

Club members, he said, also have been wanting the event to grow every year.

“Our stock contractor says he’s going to be able to put on a better show this year” given the new venue, Dortch said. “He’s going to be able to control the lighting” and “will be able to do pyrotechnics, (something) he’s never been able to do before. … He’s excited about this thing too.”

This year’s rodeo will again feature bareback riding, steer wrestling, calf roping, saddle bronc riding, team roping, cowgirl barrel race, bull riding and cowgirl break-away roping, but for the first time it will be a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association sanctioned event.

“PRCA is nationwide,” said Bobby Wicker, the club’s first vice president.

Previous rodeos, he said, drew competitors primarily from Missouri and Arkansas.

As a PRCA sanctioned event, Wicker said, the event winners will earn money toward their world standings.

Dortch said club members are expecting a “good turnout. We have an indoor (arena), the cowboys will like this.

“They’re not gonna be worried out there about getting a bull or horse in the mud.”

Dortch said $6,000 in “added money” is also up for grabs for the cowboys and cowgirls who win their events.

“That’s in addition to what they normally win,” Dortch said.

That money, Wicker said, is being put up by the club and the stock contractor, Generations Pro Rodeo of Ash Flat, Ark.

Wicker said the top bull rider each night also could earn another $500 by riding the “bounty bull.”

“The bounty bull is not a regular rodeo event,” Wicker explained. “What we do with the bounty bull, the top rider of the night gets a chance to ride the bounty bull.

“If he can cover the bounty bull, he gets 500 extra dollars.”

That bull, Wicker said, will be the “rankest” one the stock contractor has.

Calf and pig scrambles also will be held each night for the children, and the crowd will be entertained by ProRodeo clown, Ronald Burton of Philadelphia, Miss., and ProRodeo announcer, Austin Williams of Bloomfield.

Five Moolah Shrine clowns also are coming from St. Louis to interact with the crowd each night, said Wicker.

The club hosts the annual rodeo for several purposes, Wicker said.

“It helps our club bond together to do a common job together” as “it takes all of us to make this thing work,” said Wicker, who indicated it also promotes the club.

“We’re also bringing good, quality family atmosphere entertainment at a reasonable price” to town, Wicker said.

For years, he said, the club held a circus fundraiser at the Poplar Bluff Junior High School.

“We had leave the junior high football stadium” after the school installed a rubberized track, Wicker said. “When we went to the coliseum, we ended up with a couple circus producers that weren’t bringing a legitimate, quality act, and they were ripping off the public.”

It was then club members decided to host its first rodeo at Ray Clinton Park.

“We had to get away from that (the circus),” but “we had to find something that was good (entertainment) because we wanted to bring something to the community,” Wicker explained.

According to Wicker, club members would not be able to hold such events without the community support they receive.

“We want to thank all our local sponsors,” Wicker said. “The community, as far as businesses, really stand behind us, and we couldn’t do it without the businesses and community supporting us.”

Dortch agreed.

“We really want this thing to grow to the extent it’s not just helping us, but as something that will be good for the area” with people coming to town to eat at restaurants and spend the night, Dortch said.

This year’s corporate sponsors are: Kohlfeld Companies, Delta Companies Inc., Poplar Buff Realty Inc., Peoples Community Bank and Baldwin Automotive Group.

“Bobby Godwin at the coliseum, he’s doing everything he can to make this rodeo a big success,” Wicker said.

Advance tickets are available at eventbrite.com and the coliseum. Tickets also can be purchased at the door each night.

“I think in most communities pro rodeo will cost you $25 to $50 to get in; our tickets are $15,” Wicker said.

General admission tickets are $15, preferred seating is $20 and children six and under are free.

Dortch said there also are $50 VIP tickets, which include preferred seating, a barbecue dinner and beverages in the hospitality room.