Mississippi Horse Park’s Rotary Classic Rodeo receives regional Justin Boot Best Footing Award
Through a 20-year partnership between Mississippi State University, the city of Starkville and Oktibbeha County, the award-winning Mississippi Horse Park has become a nationally recognized destination for hundreds of diverse events, from roping and barrel racing to concerts and garden expos.
On Dec. 5, the Horse Park’s Rotary Classic Rodeo will be honored with the Justin Boot Best Footing Award for the Southeastern Circuit during the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Bricklee Miller, the Horse Park’s longtime director, is thrilled the facility is receiving this top award after winning third place for the Southeastern Circuit Justin Boot Best Footing Award in 2013, 2014 and 2016.
“One of the things that makes our rodeo successful is a strong collaboration between so many people. It’s become a true community event,” she said. “When people talk about the positive experience they’ve had at our rodeo and they share it, that really shines a strong light on the event we’re producing.”
Miller said the Horse Park’s Rotary Classic Rodeo was selected by the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association for having the best footing (ground) in 2019 of all 54 professional rodeos held in the Southeastern Circuit, which includes Mississippi and eight other states -- Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Preparation and maintenance of footing for rodeos is handled differently at each pro-rodeo, Miller explained. At some rodeos, the stock contractor or committee is in charge of the ground, but at the Mississippi Horse Park, footing is kept to perfection by the staff.
“Great footing is so important for any equine facility to be successful, but it also takes a specific skill to work the ground to hold high caliber barrel horses running at full speed and turning,” Miller said. “Our Horse Park operations manager Travis Childress is a professional tractor driver. When Travis is not working the footing for the equine events at the Horse Park, he is traveling across the country working the footing in other facilities for producers.”
Miller said this year’s Rotary Classic Rodeo was a success, featuring WPRA contestants from 10 of the 12 circuits across the U.S. Washington’s Cheyenne Allan of the Columbia River Circuit won the February event.
“WPRA contestants only enter our professional rodeo and travel as far as Washington because they know the footing will be safe, fast and consistent for both performances and the slack,” Miller said.
She also has been notified the Rotary Rodeo Committee has been nominated for an outstanding committee award.
With Starkville’s Rotary Classic Rodeo in first place, other Southeastern Circuit rodeo honorees for the Justin Boot Best Footing Award are as follows: Summerville, Georgia, 2nd place; Bonifay, Florida, 3rd place; and Dade City, Florida, Most Improved Ground.
For more on the Mississippi Horse Park, visit www.mshorsepark.com or www.msstate.edu/newsroom/article/2019/08/mississippi-horse-park-celebrates-20-years-economic-impact-partnerships.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.
Sasha Steinberg | Public Affairs
