By Dale Barnett
Elmore/Autauga News
Top Photo: One of the local stars entered was Kent Jordan, in the steer wrestling. Even though Jordan had experienced a non-contact injury that tore his left ACL just two weeks ago, he still competed and scored an amazing time of 3.7 seconds to beat out many other older and more experienced contestants. (Photo by Dave McKissick)
Action photos by Dave McKissick; others by Dale Barnett and contributed by John Colquitt.
Editor’s Note: Be sure to scroll down all the way for more photos!
Bubba Oubre once again has brought his rodeo company, and award-winning livestock, to Wetumpka for the annual Future Farmers of America Rodeo. The event kicked off Friday and will continue today.
This is 5th Annual FFA rodeo in Wetumpka, and for Oubre, this is the fourth year for his company to bring his show to town. The Covid pandemic shut down the show in 2020.
Oubre and his rodeo contracting company started in 1991 out of Lagrange, Georgia. They have been involved from the start and he stated “it is such a pleasure to bring our show and livestock to Wetumpka every year. The people and crowds are always great, and we continue to get more contestants every year.”
He talked about his amazing staff of professionals, along with the great volunteers from the FFA and the City of Wetumpka that make it all possible. Oubre said his company will do around 20-25 rodeo shows annually and Wetumpka is always a special show he enjoys and especially that it benefits the FFA. The Oubre brings in a stock of horses, steers, calves, and bulls that highly quality animals and some of the horses and bulls are in the running to appear at the National Finals in Oklahoma City this year, along with the bareback horse and bull riding stock of the year awards.
The Rodeo was started back in 2018 by the Wetumpka FFA Alumni Association, thanks to so many people involved with the Wetumpka High School FFA program through the years. This includes former students, educators, current students, the Elmore Cattleman’s Association, City of Wetumpka, Elmore County Commission, and other supporters. The Wetumpka FFA Alumni Association chapter uses the funds raised to benefit the local FFA program at Wetumpka, assist students to attend the National FFA Convention and to provide a scholarship to a deserving student according to William Pierce, the Wetumpka Chapter FFA Alumni President.
Pierce also advised that the Chapter not only had the R.O. Meeks scholarship, but the Chapter intends to add two more scholarship awards thanks to the success of the rodeo and other fund-raising events. One of the former Wetumpka FFA educators that was teaching when the local FFA Alumni Association was founded, is Jason Tew (retired) and secretary of the chapter.
He explained that RO Meeks was the first Agricultural teacher involved in the local school even before it became Wetumpka High School. Pierce explained the goal of the FFA has always been to teach, train and educate the next generation of leaders to make a change to their communities through agricultural education. The Chapter announced during the rodeo Friday the new awards would be named in honor of past Wetumpka FFA educators Charles Tew and Joe Brown, who led the high school AG program through many years. This will allow the Alumni Chapter to present three scholarship awards each year.
Austin Turner, current Wetumpka High school FFA President and Walter Lacey, Vice President, took a few minutes to talk about the event during their busy schedule. Turner talked about the honor of being involved in the FFA and the great members of their local chapter. Lacey said they have been busy over the last few days just getting everything in place from the bathroom stalls, the vendors, setting up the arena and bleachers.
Turner, who was recently announced as the Elmore County Agriscience Student of the Year, said the rodeo was a great event to have the community involved and for the people to learn more about the FFA. Lacey said they would love to have all their fellow FFA chapter members together for a photo but laughed and said they are all scattered out doing different important tasks.
Local landscaping businessman and former bull rodeo fighter Sid McKissick handles preparing the grounds for the rodeo and explained it takes more than just putting down dirt. The surface in the arena must be put down in the proper manner to help with safety for the animals and the contestants. The surface must be solid but also soft to absorb impacts and without ruts or holes.
That is one of the reasons a tractor frequently rides through the arena during breaks in the show so the soil and be leveled out and smooth, which requires a thick amount of dirt. McKissick is hired by several rodeo companies across the country to come in to supervise putting in the dirt surface for rodeos, including many indoor facilities and convention centers. Due to his many years of working rodeos across the south, McKissick also uses his experience to help in many other functions of the rodeo.
McKissick said that might even involve opening gates for the riding events or moving animals around for the next event. He also shares his knowledge and experience with many of the new and younger contestants. McKissick said this FFA rodeo event is top notch with many professionals involved.
McKissick introduced us to Kevin J. Willis and Patrick Green, and laughed as he announced them as the “the pickup guys.” These are the people riding on horse in the arena at all times, and usually involves at least two riders to assist getting the contestants off the bareback horses, directing the calves and steers out of the arena and to assist herding the bulls out as well. Their positions are for the safety of the contestants at all times.
Willis and Green have been involved with the Oubre company for many years now and have worked the Wetumpka rodeo for four and three years respectively. Both talked about the quality and safety of the show and how much they enjoyed coming to Wetumpka each year.
McKissick also introduced us to a clown, a real professional rodeo clown and local resident, Trent McFarland from Autaugaville. Trent, 41, said he was a second-generation rodeo clown and also a surgical registered nurse with Baptist South in Montgomery AL.
Trent said he always wanted to be a clown and started when he was 15. He laughed when he said while other boys his age got yelled at by their dad’s for not throwing a football or baseball right, his dad yelled at him for not putting his make up on correctly.
Asking McFarland if he also did any bullfighting he stated “No way, I was built for entertainment, not speed. I am here to entertain the crowds during breaks in the show. I do get in the barrel during the bull riding event, but I am not fighting them.”
“Those guys are crazy,” he said with a laugh but also talked about how vital they can be for the safety of the riders. McFarland said he works in surgery Monday through Thursday and then heads off to a rodeo for the weekend. He works different rodeo shows all across the southeast and across the country each year, including the big week-long event in Greely, Colorado. McFarland said this was his first year to work the Wetumpka rodeo and has really enjoyed his time with all the great people. He said he loves being close to home and having his three kids and his wife with him. McFarland certainly was born for this job and talking to him and hearing his stories can certainly keep people laughing for hours.
Retired Wetumpka AG teacher and FFA Alumni John Colquitt has helped the events of the chapter by spreading the word throughout the Elmore and Autauga counties over the last few weeks. He has set up different events with FFA President Austin Turner speaking on an online broadcast and arranged for some of the contestants and National USA Rodeo Queen Jessie Lynn from Prattville to attend presentations at area elementary schools.
Colquitt said young steer wrestling star Kent Jordan, from Tallassee, barrel racer Delaney Bollie, from Wetumpka, and Lynn all attended and talked during presentations at Tallassee, Wetumpka, Eclectic, Coosada, Holtville, Redland, Edgewood, and Prattville Christian elementary schools. The group also gave out free tickets for the rodeo to all kids 10 and under.
Pierce said the rodeo attracted over 8,000 people last year and based on the gate from Friday night estimated over 9,000 people attending this year. Pierce said having such large crowds was great but the fact that the show and event went safely was a big priority.
Pierce thanked the City of Wetumpka for their assistance and the law enforcement to ensure everything went smoothly. But Pierce also said there was huge challenges with having such big crowds attend when they know there are so many other events ongoing in central Alabama. Pierce said the first event in 2018 had a weekend crowd of around 3,000 people. The rodeo event experienced heavy rain on the Friday night show in 2019 and had to carry over to Sunday afternoon; there was no show in 2020. So officials had a hard time projecting the size of the crowd last year.
Mark Matthews, President of the Elmore County Chapter of the Alabama Cattleman’s Association, FFA Alumni member and the director of the food and drink concession stand, said they ran out of food, several times last year. Matthews took a few minutes to talk, while running back and forth helping get supplies for their group of volunteers manning the grills and the coolers with cold drinks.
Matthews said they thought they had enough meat but ran out and even went twice to area stores to buy more food. Matthews said they tried to prepare for another large crowd this year but were already going to buy more boiled peanuts to ensure they did not run out. Matthews said it was a good problem to have considering the funds the concession stand makes for the FFA.
Tew shared that there were around 90 contestants involved in the various events that included barrel racing, breakaway roping, tie down roping, bareback riding, bull riding, team roping and steer wrestling. Many of the contestants compete in rodeos across the south and the west hoping to make the national finals.
One of the local stars entered was Kent Jordan, in the steer wrestling. Even though Jordan had experienced a non-contact injury that tore his left ACL just two weeks ago, he still competed and scored an amazing time of 3.7 seconds to beat out many other older and more experienced contestants. Jordan said he still plans to compete in other rodeos, including the High School rodeos, hoping to make the state finals and he also hopes to make the national finals in Oklahoma City.
He said when the season is done, he will take time for surgery to repair his ACL. He said he truly enjoyed the sport, and it was his dream to hopefully finish well at the national level. He also knows that anytime he competes there is a chance to get hurt and considering his current injury it could end his season quickly. However, he wants to go until he cannot make it anymore. He also discussed the joy he got from talking to the kids at the schools, while the kids got to watch a video of his previous competitions and telling them that they can all achieve whatever they want if they just put in the work and effort.
With so many wonderful people and stories behind this great event, those attending the rodeo simply need to seek out some of those involved to enjoy some great stories. This FFA chapter and Alumni should be proud of not only the success of the rodeo but of all the quality people invested in this event. Talking to the students and FFA members and contestants, it is easy to say that this FFA Chapter is reaching its goal of sharing many young future leaders with the world.
