Great weather throughout the weekend helped to make the 64th annual Water Valley Stampede Foothills Cowboy Association rodeo a big hit with fans and competitors alike, say organizers.
Tanis Newbery, the secretary of the Water Valley Stampede Association, says the competition at the three-day rodeo was very strong.
"It was a great weekend," said Newbery. "We had good weather all days. We literally finished about 20 minutes before the rain hit (on Sunday)."
Although she did not know the exact number of people who attended the rodeo, she said, "We had great turnout as far as attendance goes."
As in the past, this year's rodeo featured competitors from across the region and beyond.
"The competition was really good again this year," she said. "There were lots of local participants for sure. And there were also lots of people coming in from other places, from outside the area."
This year featured brand new roughstock holding areas prepared by volunteers over the past many months.
"It worked really well. The stock contractors really liked what we had set up and what we had done," she said.
Saturday's performance included a special salute to longtime rodeo organizer and committee member Jack Eby, who passed away in 2016.
"He was one of the founding members of the rodeo 64 years ago," he said. "Him and his wife (Jean, also now deceased) were involved for many years. They were great people."
The unofficial winners are as follows: Branden Dillman (bareback), Joel Waddell (saddlebronc), J.T. Robinson (calf roping), Jeff Heggie (steer wrestling), Colton Poland/Wacey Palleson (team roping), Val Gillespie (ladies barrel racing), Kacee Ward (junior barrel racing), Harleigh Henderson (pee wee barrels), Grady Smeltzer (junior bulls), and Beau Gardner (boys steer riding).
