Bringing home the gold: Mississippi Horse Park鈥檚 Rotary Classic Rodeo receives regional 鈥楯ustin Boot Best Footing Award鈥
Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擳hrough a 20-year partnership between 多多直播, 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 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.
鈥淥ne of the things that makes our rodeo successful is a strong collaboration between so many people. It鈥檚 become a true community event,鈥 she said. 鈥淲hen people talk about the positive experience they鈥檝e had at our rodeo and they share it, that really shines a strong light on the event we鈥檙e producing.鈥
Miller said the Horse Park鈥檚 Rotary Classic Rodeo was selected by the Women鈥檚 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鈥擜labama, 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.
鈥淕reat 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,鈥 Miller said. 鈥淥ur 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.鈥
Miller said this year鈥檚 Rotary Classic Rodeo was a success, featuring WPRA contestants from 10 of the 12 circuits across the U.S. Washington鈥檚 Cheyenne Allan of the Columbia River Circuit won the February event.
鈥淲PRA 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,鈥 Miller said.
She also has been notified the Rotary Rodeo Committee has been nominated for an outstanding committee award.聽
With Starkville鈥檚 Rotary Classic Rodeo in first place, other Southeastern Circuit rodeo honorees for the Justin Boot Best Footing Award are as follows: Summerville, Georgia鈥2nd place; Bonifay, Florida鈥3rd place; and Dade City, Florida鈥擬ost Improved Ground.
For more on the Mississippi Horse Park, visit or /newsroom/article/2019/08/mississippi-horse-park-celebrates-20-years-economic-impact-partnerships.
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