Annual Rodeo Returns to ECSP Arena

By Misty Cryer

Rodeo has always been more than a sport in Eddy County; it is a piece of heritage that carries grit, pride, and the community spirit of western life into the arena while uniting neighbors and visitors in a shared love of competition and camaraderie.

The Eddy County Sheriff’s Posse highlights this tradition each year during Western Week at the ECSP Arena, 1601 E. Greene St. Starting with a pageant on September 20, the rest of the events begin on Wednesday, September 24, and will run through Saturday, September 27.

Rodeo Nights and Neon Lights is the theme of Western Week this year, said Jenny Rennie, Event Coordinator and Treasurer for the Eddy County Sheriff’s Posse.

“It is so hard to take a family to do anything—to go out and enjoy yourselves. We have set it up to where admission for the spectators for the entire week is free,” said Rennie. “The only thing they have to pay for is, of course, the concessions,” she said.

“We managed last year, for our anniversary, to get the rodeo sponsored. We did fundraising all year to get it paid for,” said Rennie. While still scrambling to get sponsors, she said, “We are doing it again this year.”

The Miss Rodeo Eddy County Royalty Pageant will be on Saturday, September 20. “The girls will all compete in their individual divisions,” said Rennie, explaining that indoor competition includes categories such as modeling, speech competitions, and photography, followed by outdoor activities for the horsemanship competitions.

The crowning of the Eddy County Rodeo Queens will be during the opening ceremonies of the rodeo on Friday, September 26, she said.

Pageant contestants recently appeared at Carlsbad Downtown Farmers and Makers Market for a Meet and Greet. “It is a very good thing for them to learn more in the area of public speaking. They talk about the rodeo, events coming up, and about rodeo in general,” said Rennie. She added that individual picture cards with their pictures and names were ordered for the contestants to sign and hand out at the market.

The Barrel Racing Jackpot begins at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 24, with $500 added for gifts. “It is open to anyone. We have a youth division where kids can come and run…and then we have the open division open to anyone; amateurs and pros can run in this,” said Rennie. “We have beautiful buckles for each division,” she said.

With an arena bigger than most, Rennie said that Wednesday night is a good warmup race for participants that have not run at the arena before as they come from all over the state, Texas, and Arizona.

“Thursday night is the big night,” said Rennie. Starting at 5 p.m., evening events will feature breakaway roping and team roping, along with the barbeque that ECSP is famous for.

“It is definitely a big deal,” said Rennie. “Our grill masters cook all night long Wednesday night to get all the barbeque ready for Thursday night,” she said.

Barbeque plates are $20 and include brisket, potato salad, beans, rolls, and a choice of cobbler, said Rennie, adding that they are also available for carryout.

Friday, September 26, is the first night of the rodeo beginning at 6:30 p.m. “It will start out with the crowning of our new Rodeo Queens, and then it will go into the full event,” said Rennie. “A Calf Scramble will be held for the kids that night,” she said.

On Saturday, September 27, the rodeo will continue starting at 6:30 p.m., opening with the new queens doing their hot laps and introductions. “Instead of the Calf Scramble, we will have the Cowhide Race,” said Rennie.

She explained that the Cowhide Race is when one person lays on the cowhide and is pulled by another person, mounted on a horse, who turns a barrel and then comes back. “We did it several years ago, and everyone absolutely loved it. They’ve begged us for years to do it again, so we are finally doing it again this year,” she said.

The full event includes all of the flag riders carrying sponsor flags throughout the rodeo that features bull riding, bronc riding, barrel racing, and roping, said Rennie.

This is the 86th year of the Eddy County Sheriff’s Posse. “We do events monthly, but this is our big event that we do every year,” said Rennie.

“In our intent to keep it alive and thriving, we have a small board and group of volunteers that run the Posse,” she said. “We wouldn’t be able to keep it open out there without the help of the sponsors we get. It’s a long list of sponsors,” she added.