BENTON, Pa. — It's rodeo season, and the Benton area rodeo is back for its 39th year. Cowboys and cowgirls from all over the country come out to compete for a spot in the American finals rodeo.
“Everyone says baseball's America’s sport, but I think rodeo's America’s sport. It’s the most patriotic sporting event you can come to,” said Jared Bagley.
Now, the Benton Area Rodeo offers more than just great competition. Entertainment for all is included in all the action, including the Benton Rodeo Chicks, who are just about to get everything started.
“We all just try to gather around and talk about it and make sure we have everything correct for the pattern. We come up with a different pattern and a different color and different music each year, but we try to do different things to make it more interesting,” said Brynlee Konopinski.
What we're doing right now is just practicing the sequence. This is how they prepare for the show before they do it on the horses. They practice for months in advance to do this every single year.
“We do probably 8 to 10 patterns a day and just drill it into our brains,” again said Brynlee.
Other entertainment includes specialty acts, a rodeo clown, and a popular professional rodeo announcer, Ty Miller.
“One thing I noticed is rodeo is stronger than ever right now and especially in the northeast. And what I mean by that is everywhere we go, the crowd is packed. People want to get out they want to see the show - especially here at Benton. It's a lot that's on the line here this week, and you're going to get to see a lot of the top athletes,” said Ty Miller.
6-time champ of the pro rodeo association, Tim Kent, helped start championship weekend with a bang – fans can also see steer wrestling, roping, and bull riding, along with other rodeo events all weekend long.
Eve Hernandez Newswatch 16 sports Benton.