Even a Pandemic Can’t Stop Local Rodeo Action
The 12th annual Ram Rodeo hosted by Fayette County Sheriff’s Posse took place Friday and Saturday evenings with a relatively large gathering in attendance. The Posse was established in 1993 and it grants scholarships to schools throughout the county via the rodeo events.
“It’s usually a very successful event,” said Posse Treasurer Niki Powell.
Texas is one of three states along with Wyoming and South Dakota where American rodeo is the official state sport. The Cowboy’s Professional Rodeo Association, also known as the CPRA, is a point system that keeps track of the cowboy’s performances throughout the season. Each cowboy who has enough points earns their right to compete in the CPRA finals at the end of the season.
Friday night’s pursuit started with the Saddle Bronc challenge where each cowboy is timed for how long they can ride the bucking horse without falling off. Beaumont native Joel Picou is currently number one in the CPRA standings with over 4,000 points accumulated this season and discussed his night along with this year’s tenure.
“My season started out really good this year,” said Picou. “The horse that I had tonight, I actually won with at the first rodeo of the season. I was really happy to have him here. Unfortunately, I swapped saddles and I didn’t ride him as good as I did the first time. The season started out great and then this COVID deal hit, so we’ve had to travel a lot. That’s kind of put a little strain on us, but we’re used to it. As hot as it is, it doesn’t hurt to drive and ride in that air conditioner. I sure appreciate them having this rodeo and I’ll be back next year.”
Positioned second place in the CPRA standings with 2,800 points is Clint Lindenfeld from Whitesboro. Lindenfeld had one of the better attempts on the night, capturing 77 points for his ride.
“Everybody’s coming back good, strong, and healthy,” said Lindenfeld. “Usually we’re all beat up this time of year. It’s been great and I love coming out here to La Grange. The first time I came here, I won it and I got the cool looking buckle. I didn’t have enough horse tonight to do it, but I’ll place and make some money down here.”
While there haven’t been many big events happening in the area this summer, rodeo gives folks a special sense of entertainment as one of the most popular sports in Texas.