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E-mail This StoryA city runoff election wasn’t the only politics in order Saturday in Mesquite.
As some of the top up-and-coming cowboys in the world were packing their gear to head home, Neal Gay made a point to individually tell each bull rider who competed during the opening week of the PBR Discovery Tour at Resistol Arena that he appreciated them. He meant it.
There are locals like Cody Atwood, of Decatur, that say they never rode at the Mesquite Championship Rodeo on their way up in the rodeo ranks.
“This is a great deal here with it being close to home,” he said. “I mainly ride in the PBR, and some in open bull ridings; I’m just trying to make a living.”
Yet, the MCR had once bred eight-time PRCA bull riding champion Don Gay and Monty Henson of local note. It had hosted others like Terry Don West on an occasional stop. Jason Jeter and Jason Milam made it their training ground and did pretty well for cowboys on the local circuit.
“We’ve always said we’d put the Rafter G Rodeo Company stock up against anybody in the world,” said Mark Miller, general manager of the Mesquite Championship Rodeo.
For the first half-century, the Mesquite Championship Rodeo was noteworthy as the only weekly rodeo in the world. In its 51st season, it made the decision to bring in the PBR Discovery Tour for a limited schedule this summer.
By all accounts it seems to have been a good decision.
The rodeo experienced a good problem this past week. There were 107 entries in the bull riding competition and in two openings on Friday and Saturday there were 50 available spots which were selected at random by a computer.
“It shows you the enthusiasm there is for this,” Miller said. “You can feel it in the crowd. There is enthusiasm among the cowboys as well. I think we were able to get the word out among the people of Dallas and the PBR cowboys.”
And never let it be said the MCR doesn’t know how to put on a show. From an opening with pyrotechnics and spot lit introductions of the top bull riders in attendance, including one with ties to legendary Oklahoma cowboy Lane Frost, throughout the competition it was action-packed.
“There was a little more high-energy presentation,” Miller said. “We’re still doing all the same things, but we’re doing some high-energy things to maximize the excitement of the crowd.”
Sessions of bull riding, including 25 riders in each rodeo opening, sandwich the staples of typical rodeo events and MCR special events, like cowboy poker and the kids’ calf scramble.
The PBR Discovery Tour will be part of the MCR through September.
“At a PBR rodeo, you see the bull riding and go home,” Miller said. “You get to see the bull riding here and other typical rodeo events.”
The PBR’s main tour, the Built Ford Tough Series, rides into American Airlines Center for its 22nd stop in Dallas June 21-22. Defending world champion Justin McBride will return to action for the first time this season, along with the top riders the PBR has to offer.
The PBR features four series: Discovery, Enterprise, Challenger and Built Ford Tough. While the Discovery series is mostly for young up-and-comers, the top cowboys can compete in it when the Built Ford Tough Series is not in action. There will be only three events on the Built Ford Tough series schedule after this weekend and through the end of August. It could mean some of the PBR staples might land in Mesquite and there could even be a look at Adriano Moraes on his farewell tour.
Jason Bennett, originally from Grand Prairie, was among those big names competing in the first weekend of the Discovery Tour in Mesquite. He was the PBR’s Rookie of the Year in 2000.
Mesquite could become a popular choice for both up-and-coming and top cowboys this summer.
“I’m going to come here as much as I can this summer,” Atwood said.
