Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Cowboys, Cowgirls Welcome
LINCOLN RODEO WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY
LINCOLN —The time of year has arrived when Lincoln rolls out the red carpet and invites rodeo fans into town, welcoming those attending the Lincoln Rodeo to dance on the street.
The 62nd annual Lincoln Rodeo gets underway with the Little Miss and Little Mister contests at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. After the 2015 Little Mister and Little Miss Lincoln Riding Club are announced, a street dance will be held at Lincoln Square from 8 to 11 p.m. featuring a soundtrack performed by Howard Lester and the Boston Mountain Playboys. Once rodeo fans have kicked up their heels and had a good time dancing, action will shift to Lincoln Riding Club’s rodeo arena on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
“We’re just thrilled to have them. It’s a long-standing tradition in the community,” said Heather Keenen, president of Lincoln Area Chamber of Commerce. “We’re very pleased with the impact that the visiting cowboys have on our community during rodeo week.”
Each year, the Lincoln Rodeo continues to draw a lot of interest as a highly popular event drawing entrants from across Northwest Arkansas and beyond. The rodeo is celebrating 62 years in 2015 and competitive events include: steer wrestling, bull riding, saddle bronc, team roping, bareback riding, barrel racing, calf roping and break-a-way roping. Junior barrels are 14 and under while peewee barrels are 8 and under. There will be a calf scramble and nightly mutton busting for kids. Blisard Rodeo Company, of Okla., is the stock contractor and the rodeo is sanctioned by American Cowboys Rodeo Association (and the International Professional Rodeo Association).
Virtually every year some sort of a spinoff from Lincoln Riding Club appears as a new act during the rodeo and this year is no exception with the formation of the Arkansas Fillies, a trick-riding group made up of girls ages 5-17 scheduled to perform on Thursday. Bethany Reed, one of the Arkansas Fillies’ directors, said this will be only their fifth public performance since forming the group in January. Many members are from Lincoln and virtually all are members of Lincoln Riding Club. Some hold rodeo titles while others are competing for a crown at this year’s rodeo.
“It’s a great honor for them to be
able to ride and represent the city,” Reed said.
Lincoln Riding Club installed new restroom facilities four years ago and full concessions are available. The 2015 rodeo also features a queen contest, junior queen and princess contest and Little Mister and Little Miss LRC contest. Thursday is Family Night. At 7:30 p.m., the stick horse grand entry will be led by Little Mister and Little Miss Lincoln Rodeo 2015, followed by the 8 p.m. rodeo performance.
On Friday, the stick horse grand entry is at 7:30 p.m., followed by the rodeo performance at 8 p.m. On Saturday at 4 p.m. participants line up for the rodeo parade at Lincoln Riding Club arena. The rodeo parade begins at 4:30 p.m., followed by the stick horse grand entry at 7: 30 p. m. and final rodeo performance at 8 p.m.
NOTE: Check out the Lincoln Rodeo royalty and royalty candidate profiles and pictures in the Rodeo Section starting on page 1B.