Behind The Chutes

A bull rider’s time tops out at 8 seconds, but Rodeo of the Ozarks organizers stay in the saddle year-round to bring Northwest Arkansas the four-day event sponsored by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Under those cowboy hats and behind the bucking chutes, organizers provide the community with events all year long, as they strive to give back to the community.

Did you know …

The rodeo is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization?

The Springdale Benevolent Amusement Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, owns the rodeo grounds and leases the facilities each year to the rodeo. The foundation’s mission statement focuses on providing and improving the grounds for family entertainment, said Tom Reed, a member of both the foundation’s and the rodeo’s board of directors.

“The nonprofit status gives the opportunity for people who have a passion and want to help the rodeo see improvements,” Reed said. “It helps those who want to provide sponsorships to the rodeo to take that as a charitable donation up to the amount allowable by law.”

The foundation sponsors the Stick Horse Rodeo for Springdale first-graders, an annual Easter egg hunt, the Christmas in the Ozarks parade and provides use of the grounds without charge to youth rodeo organizations, Reed said.

The rodeo awards $16,000 in scholarships to local high school graduates?

Through the foundation, the rodeo in May presented four students with an agriculture-related plans of study with $1,000 per year renewable scholarships, said Steve Smith, rodeo board president. The scholarships are awarded to students from both Springdale high schools and a Madison County high school through an application process. The foundation raises money for the scholarships through the

Denim and Diamonds Gala each winter. Rodeo officials hopes to expand the scholarship program to other area school districts, Smith said.

The rodeo is an all-volunteer organization?

The 15 board members serve voluntarily, while hundreds of other volunteers contribute hundreds of hours to the rodeo. The rodeo has two full-time employees year-round, said Fadil Bayyari, director.

The rodeo is consistently voted one of the top five outdoor rodeos by PRCA contestants, contract employees and organizers of local rodeos?

Also, rodeo announcer Boyd Polhamus is the four-time announcer of the year and has worked the National Finals Rodeo 17 times. Stock contractor Stace Smith has earned Stock Contractor of the Year honors every year since 2004.

“You don’t have to drive 900 miles and pay a high ticket price to see the ‘Daddy of them All,’ Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days,” Smith said. “We’ve got the same stock contractor, the same announcer, the same funny man, the same comedy acts and a lot of the same cowboys — all performing in Springdale.”

The rodeo awards a purse totaling more than $100,000?

The rodeo adds $10,000 per event — $70,000 total — to the cowboy’s rodeo entry fees to be awarded in prize money for top riders. The Springdale rodeo pays a respectable amount in the PRCA, said John Gladden, board member.

The rodeo attracts top cowboys and cowgirls in the PRCA?

Gladden attributes this to the purse, the stock and “I hope, because the way they are treated here.”

“We give them dressing rooms, we give them showers, we give them a washer and dryer, we feed them … , ” Gladden said.

The rodeo crowns a new queen each year?

Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks spends her yearlong reign promoting the rodeo at other events. Charley Stephenson of Springdale wears the 2012 crown, and Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks 2013 will be announced after the bareback riding Saturday.

“Queens bring flash and color to the rodeo,” said Pat Hutter, the rodeo director in charge of the queen contest and a former Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks. “And everybody likes to see a pretty girl.”

The rodeo welcomes anyone to join the two parades?

“All we ask them for is some sort of patriotic or western decoration,” said Rick Culver, show chairman. Parades start at 3 p.m. Thursday and 10 a.m. Saturday. The parade route begins at the rodeo grounds and travels west on Emma Avenue through downtown Springdale.

The rodeo proves that monkeys can ride, too?

Rodeo of the Ozarks presents Tim “Wild Thang” Lepard and Team Ghost Riders as the specialty act during each nightly performance of the rodeo. “It’s something you don’t see everyday: Monkeys riding dogs and herding sheep,” Culver said. “It’s very amusing.”

The rodeo presents other entertainment opportunities for families in Northwest Arkansas?

The rodeo offers the Ozark Demolition Derby and carnivals each fall and spring, the Christmas in the Ozarks parade and more, Culver said.