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The Pelham Civic Complex and Ice Arena traded their Zamboni for an orange Kubota tractor while the facility delivered a two-day rodeo event billed as “The Greatest Show on Dirt,” on July 19-20. (For the Reporter/Jeremy Raines)

By DONALD MOTTERN | Staff Writer

PELHAM – The Pelham Civic Complex and Ice Arena traded their Zamboni for an orange Kubota tractor while the facility delivered a two-day rodeo event billed as “The Greatest Show on Dirt,” on July 19-20.

Presented by Kidz Outdoors in partnership with the 3R Rodeo Company, and fully endorsed by the Professional Cowboy Association, the rodeo marked the first time that the facility had ever hosted an event of its type.

“We are always looking for ways to diversify the PCC and one of the events we thought would work well in Pelham was a rodeo,” PCC Executive Director Seth Greenberg said. “We had conversations with a few different outfits (in the past) but they were not a good fit. Finally, when we met with Carol Clark from Kidz Outdoors and 3R Rodeo everything lined up and we decided to make it happen.”

Transforming the Pelham Civic Complex’s main ice arena into a dirt filled corral for the first time in the venue’s history took extensive preparation and planning that saw a total of 54 loads of earth trucked in to the facility from Helena.

“The loads of dirt were dumped outside of the complex and brought inside using skid steers,” Greenberg said. “The complete setup of placing the dirt and setting up the chutes and panels took two full days. Once the rodeo ended Saturday night, the teardown and load out began and by 6 p.m. on Sunday it was complete.”

Over the course of the two-day program, 290 total riders took part in a wide-variety of events that depicted a slew of different skills and focused specializations. While packing the seats, event attendees were able to watch riders take part in events that included bareback riding, calf roping, steer wrestling, barrel racing, bull riding and more.

Outside of those energized events, the night also offered ample entertainment in the form of comedic interludes performed by professional rodeo clown TJ Williams and a specialty act presentation by Tim “Wild Thang” Lepard and Team Ghost Riders.

Lepard’s act included two highly trained Capuchin monkeys dressed in cowboy outfits that rode into the arena on the backs of border collies. Riding in their miniature saddles, both monkeys proceeded to wrangle and herd sheep into a small corral in the center of the arena. That act, which proved to be highly successful with the crowd, concluded with an emotional Lepard expressing his love and appreciation for the animals and thanking all of those in attendance for their support.

While acting as the main presenter of the event, Kidz Outdoors also served as the primary benefactor from the event’s success with proceeds from ticket sales and sold merchandise going toward their mission of providing unique and constructive outdoor and recreational experiences to children.

Although the official count of proceeds going toward the organization has not yet been finalized, the city of Pelham has officially confirmed that total ticket sales for the event reached $53,000 with approximately 3,000 spectators having attended over the two nights.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Pelham Civic Complex and Ice Arena and the 3R Rodeo Company for their support,” said Carol Clark, the CEO of Kidz Outdoors.

With origins ranging across six different states, a number of the children who have directly benefitted from the work of Kidz Outdoors attended the rodeo for both nights and took part in the festivities. Cash Miles, from Texas, helped open both nights of the event by singing the National Anthem alongside 2022’s Miss Rodeo USA, Jessie Lynn. Another teen in the program, Ty Barret, was able to experience his dream of riding and being bucked from a bull with the support of the other riders who threw their hats in recognition of his ride.

“It is always a great time when you get to support the kids and anything that gets to benefit their cause,” Lynn said. “A big thanks to the 3R Rodeo Company for having us and to Kidz Outdoors for a special evening.”

With both days of the event being compiled and scored by judges Keith Brogden, Matt Dryden, Jeremy Sherman and Tanner Lee, a total of $85,750 in prize money was also dispersed and awarded to the winners of the eight events present at the event. Those events and their winners included:

• Bareback – Matt Smith
• Saddle Bronc – Kody Rinehart
• Calf Roping – Chase Graves
• Breakaway Roping – Gracie Ann Green
• Steer Wrestling – Jason Wood
• Barrel Racing – Zoey Carpenter
• Team Roping – Charlie Day and Stephen Bland
• Bull Riding – Wender Vargas

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