Inaugural youth rodeo builds the future
According to Gerald Anderson, “the future is bright” for rodeo, and it starts with the young cowboys and cowgirls in the area.
This past Saturday, June 15, the Bill Pickett Youth Rodeo Association hosted its first ever youth rodeo at the Williamson County Expo Center.
“It was phenomenal for the first event,” Anderson, Rodeo Association board member, said. “It was fun, exciting. Everybody laughed, everybody cheered. It was a great event.”
Events included team roping, mutton busting, chute dogging, barrel racing, bull riding, breakaway roping and dummy roping. There were close to 70 registrations across all events.
“If we got one contestant, they were going to get the show that 600 contestants would get, because if you were willing to show up and showcase your skills, we’re willing to give you a Saturday night rodeo to showcase that,” Anderson said.
According to organizers, there were more attendees than anticipated. The expectation was for family members of participants, but Anderson said people came just to enjoy the event.
“There were people who came just to watch the rodeo,” he said. “Everyone who attended the rodeo and all of the contestants left with a smile.”
Each event winner received a customized belt buckle, Anderson said. Money collected from tickets and entry fees went back to select competitors after the event in the form of scholarships.
The plan is to continue the event into the future.
“Imagine our rodeo 75 years from now. It was a great success in year number one, and it’s going to just continue to grow from here,” Anderson said. “Who doesn’t love to see kids tackling challenges, achieving their dreams and overcoming fears. That’s something that people want to see, and something we do at the Bill Pickett Youth Rodeo.”
He said the goal is to empower and equip kids to become the next rodeo athletes for the next generation.
Anderson said there were roadblocks and situations that could have possibly stopped the event from happening, but the organization persevered to make sure the rodeo was a success.
“We ran into some obstacle along the way, like anything you put on. Your first event, there will always be things that stand in your way,” he said. “We were able to overcome a lot of obstacles and circumstances that normally people wouldn’t be able to put the show on. But we overcame a lot to make sure we could do this for the kids to have a platform.”
Anderson said with the youth rodeo, there are now three tiers of the sport in Taylor including the Taylor Rodeo Association rodeo and the Williamson County Fair and Rodeo. He said Taylor has the potential to be the headquarters for rodeo athletes.
“All of us working together can make Taylor the rodeo capital of Texas, and at some point the rodeo capital of the world,” Anderson said. “We’re going to be creating the next generation and also giving them a platform to showcase their skills at the next level...from being a 5-year old mutton buster to a professional rodeo star in the PRCAs, CPRA or PBR.”
