Article published May 16, 2008
By LAUREN GROVER
Staff Writer
LINDALE — The gate bangs open and Rockin’ Robin flies out with Cobin Williams on her back. Five … six … seven … eight seconds, and the crowd lets loose. The young cowboy’s perseverance earns him 80 points, a solid bronc riding score.
Without a pause, the Lindale Championship Rodeo had a muddy kickoff
Thursday night with fast-riding cowgirl beauties, gritty riders and lasso-swinging calf ropers.
With more than $60,000 in the prize pot, some 700 contestants strapped on spurs and broad-brimmed hats to compete in a rodeo that’s gained recognition as the No. 4 event in the United Professional Rodeo Association.
“This takes a lot of home practice,” Lindale resident David Thadford said during the women’s breakaway roping event. “As opposed to the rough stock (like bronc riding) where riders mostly practice at rodeos.”
Thadford estimated about 25 percent of the competitors already held their professional rodeo card through previous competition. The East Texas area boasts a notable reputation for molding rodeo winners.
The 2007 Steer Roping World Champion Trevor Brazille competed in Lindale at youth rodeo camps when he was a boy, Thadford said.
A community gem, the rodeo has brought folks to the Lindale Arena for 21 years now. Thursday night saw 2,000 in attendance, organizers said. First-timers got a particularly sweet thrill as horses shot along the railing near enough to throw mud on spectators.
“I just love all of it,” said 88-year-old Elizabeth Ray, of Lindale, who settled into a folding chair just inches from the railing. “I grew up around horses, but I haven’t been to one of these in a long
Without a pause, the Lindale Championship Rodeo had a muddy kickoff
Thursday night with fast-riding cowgirl beauties, gritty riders and lasso-swinging calf ropers.With more than $60,000 in the prize pot, some 700 contestants strapped on spurs and broad-brimmed hats to compete in a rodeo that’s gained recognition as the No. 4 event in the United Professional Rodeo Association.
“This takes a lot of home practice,” Lindale resident David Thadford said during the women’s breakaway roping event. “As opposed to the rough stock (like bronc riding) where riders mostly practice at rodeos.”
Thadford estimated about 25 percent of the competitors already held their professional rodeo card through previous competition. The East Texas area boasts a notable reputation for molding rodeo winners.
The 2007 Steer Roping World Champion Trevor Brazille competed in Lindale at youth rodeo camps when he was a boy, Thadford said.
A community gem, the rodeo has brought folks to the Lindale Arena for 21 years now. Thursday night saw 2,000 in attendance, organizers said. First-timers got a particularly sweet thrill as horses shot along the railing near enough to throw mud on spectators.
“I just love all of it,” said 88-year-old Elizabeth Ray, of Lindale, who settled into a folding chair just inches from the railing. “I grew up around horses, but I haven’t been to one of these in a long
(photo by Jaime R. Carrero/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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