Rodeo, Football, Corn Maze Fill Cornucopia Of Events

FILE PHOTO BEN GOFF • @NWABenGoff Visitors watch pig races at Farmland Adventures East of Springdale on Oct. 4. Farmland features a variety of agri-tourism attractions including a pumpkin patch, pig races, a children’s area, live animals and a giant corn maze.
FILE PHOTO BEN GOFF • @NWABenGoff Visitors watch pig races at Farmland Adventures East of Springdale on Oct. 4. Farmland features a variety of agri-tourism attractions including a pumpkin patch, pig races, a children’s area, live animals and a giant corn maze.

Fans of rodeo, fans of kids and fans of both have a weekend of action to catch this weekend. Starting at 10 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday, some young cowboys and cowgirls from across the state compete in the Arkansas High School Rodeo Association event at Parsons Stadium in Springdale.

"There'll be some good athletes there," said David Dodd. Dodd supported his own daughter, Dilynn, in high school rodeos, and just kept it up when she graduated. "I just like rodeo," he said. "Plus they're a partner with Rodeo of the Ozarks."

David is a member of the rodeo board.

The weekend rodeo includes many of the same events seen in professional rodeo -- bareback and saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, barrel racing and bull riding -- as well as some unique to smaller rodeos, such as pole bending, goat tying and break-away roping for girls.

Each day's rodeo is a "go-round," with each rider earning a score. At the end of the rodeo Sunday, the Saturday and Sunday scores are put together for an average score, explained Pat Hutter. The "average" winners in each event win belt buckles, she said. And many association members have competed in the national finals through the years.

Hutter, another longtime supporter, is also a member of the Rodeo of the Ozarks board and the Springdale Riding Club. "I just love it," she said. "I love being with all the kids."

The high school rodeo gives young rodeo athletes an opportunity to compete against riders their own ages, rather than adults, Hutter said. And many of the riders submit their own entries, teaching them responsibility and independence, she added.

These young riders compete individually, rather than riding for their schools. The events are open to anyone in the ninth through 12th grades, Dodd explained. They attend public schools, private schools and home schools. But the students are required to maintain a C grade-point average to compete, he explained.

Springdale Riding Club sponsors the annual high school rodeo event in Springdale. The club awards scholarships to the best riders according to scores -- the all-around cowboy and all-around cowgirl -- and another student based on an essay, Hutter said.

At 8 a.m. Sunday the high school rodeo association presents a church service in Parsons Stadium, with former University of Arkansas football coach Ken Hatfield speaking.

Admission is $5 and free for children 12 and younger.

Under The Lights

For Chandler Fuller, quarterback and punter for the Springdale High School Bulldogs, Friday night's football game serves as a homecoming, of sorts, reported his grandfather Jim Fuller.

The Bulldogs challenge the Grizzlies of Northside High School in Fort Smith. In 1936, Chandler's great-grandfather Grover Fuller played quarterback and punter for the Grizzlies.

Grover's senior year found him playing in a brand new football stadium, a project built by the Works Progress Administration. The stadium -- then called Grizzly Field -- was later renamed Mayo-Thompson Stadium, in honor of Grover's coaches.

Jim Fuller pointed out that, in his senior year, Chandler also will play in a new stadium, as the Springdale School District upgrades the Jerrell Williams Bulldog Stadium for the 2015 football season.

Making Their Way

Farmland Adventures of Springdale, known for pony rides and a corn maze, reported a record day Saturday, with more than 4,000 people visiting the site. But owner Dwain Parsons said everyone still had fun.

The farm offers enough activities that lines were not terribly long, he said -- except for the wagon ride, with the wait time being about 25 minutes, he said. About 1,300 people rode the pedal cars, 1,700 to 1,800 climbed on the backs of ponies.

"If we didn't have so many ponies, they probably would have been tired," Parsons laughed.

In addition to the 9-acre corn maze and mini maze -- with a Lost Civilization theme this year -- Farmland Adventures features a petting zoo, pumpkin patch, pig races and a giant sandbox filled with corn kernels for the youngest children. After dark on Friday and Saturday, guests turn on their flashlights and take an entirely different tour through the maze.

"We'll probably run out of pumpkins Saturday," Parsons warned, noting nice weather is forecast for this weekend. "If you want a pumpkin you better come quick, you'd better come early Saturday."

Farmland Adventures is an example of a successful, small family business. Parsons and his wife LuDonna added the popular corn maze to their petting zoo in 2011, and operate it west of Springdale with the help of their eight children and various members of their extended family. "Families enjoy being here," Parsons said.

"It's mostly by word of mouth," he continued. "We've grown exponentially every year. I don't know the reason, but I won't fuss about it."

Admission is $10 for adults, $9 for children ages 3 to 12, and $8 for senior citizens. The farm is open Thursday and Friday afternoons and evenings and all day Saturday.

Commentary on 10/23/2014

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