Andrews Rodeo fans were thrilled from start to finish Friday and Saturday night, when the Great American Rodeo Co.’s Cherokee County Wild West Show & Rodeo was on display at Andrews Recreation Park.
The hundreds in attendance over the two nights were treated to top-tier competition in bareback, saddle bronc, barrel racing and bull riding. Between events, they held a strong man contest to see if anyone could take down a small bull, as well as a mutton bustin’ and a competition between kids at the show to see who could get a ribbon off the tail of a small bull for a cash prize.
To close both nights, they ended the rodeo with bull riding, a fan favorite. Cody Armstrong of Skiatook, Okla., won with a score of 84 out of 100 possible points. Armstrong took home $2,520 for the win.
Other notable cowboys competing in bull riding included Ricky Ringer and Austin Beaty. Ringer, 47, has more than 30 years of bull-riding experience.
He is also the subject of the 2022 documentary Ride Till I Die. The film details his life story, as well as his last ride in Professional Bull Riding, which led to his first retirement from the sport.
Ringer is back in competition and, as the name states, he will ride until he can’t any more. The documentary can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video and Peacock, as well as for free on Tubi and Pluto TV.
After his ride Friday night, Ringer said, “I like to win, so getting thrown off, it ain’t the best feeling. But you gotta suck it up and go on to the next won.”
Ringer’s advice to aspiring bull riders is, “Love it. You gotta love it. You gotta want to. You can’t just go out here to impress a girl, you gotta want it and love it.”
Beaty – the No. 1 ranked bull rider in the International Professional Rodeo Association, a multi-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association champion and former PBR competitor, as well as retired Army National Guard solider – was also in competition.
After competing, he said, “I have to treat it as such in my mind, as a competitor, it’s just another rodeo. But this was a really neat rodeo. This one’s unique because it’s in a hole, in the mountains of North Carolina. This is what rodeo should feel like.”
Beaty said, despite enjoying the rodeo, he didn’t feel good about his ride.
“In this sport, you’re going to buck off way more than you ride. I tried him as hard as I could try him. Maybe a second or third effort I could have done something different,” Beaty said.
“This competition is unlike baseball, unlike basketball. While those events are happening fast, this is happening faster. I don’t have time to make a conscious decision, so whatever that subconscious mind tells me, I try to go with it, trust it – and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.”
He is ranked No. 1 in the IPRA.
To maintain that, he said, “Just stay on the best I can. A lot of it will be in God’s control. This season feels ordained to me.
“I actually announced my retirement last year. I’ve been to the PBRs, the PRCAs and had some success in both, won a national championship last year. I’m getting older, I’m 33, I might as well slow on down, get my shooting business up and running.
“I retired from the Army last year as well. I feel like it’s time to slow things down, but at the first event of this season back in January, I was like, ‘Man, I still feel good.’ ”
Matthew Smith took the win in the first event of the night, bareback riding. Smith scored 75 out of 100 to take home $900.
Tyler Pascour of Cherryville took second place with a score of 73, taking home $540. Bucky McAlpine took home third place by scoring a 71 and took home $360. At press time, Smith is ranked No. 3 in the IPRA, Pascour is ranked No. 7 and McAlpine is ranked No. 10.
In saddle bronc riding, the No. 1 ranked saddle bronc rider in the IPRA, Spur Montag, and the No. 2 ranked rider, Kody Rinehart, tied for first with both scoring 73. They both took home $900.
In barrel racing, the competition was decided by milliseconds for who would take home the top prize. Kristen Miller, the No. 3 ranked racer in the National Cowboy Association, took home first with a time of 14.072 seconds.
Lacey Thompson, the No. 10 ranked racer in the NCA, took home second place with a time of 14.124. Savannah Thompson, the No. 15 ranked rider in the IPRA, took home third with a time of 14.185. Coming in fourth place was Josie Thompson, the No. 4 ranked rider in the IPRA, with a time of 14.308.
Miller took home the top prize of $633.60, while Lacey Thompson won $475.20, Savannah Thompson earned $316.80 and Josie Thompson took home $158.40.
Jason White, co-owner of the Great American Rodeo Co., said after Friday’s show, “I am completely happy. There was a good crowd tonight. My barometer is watching the kids, and watching them smile and watching them have a good time, and I saw nothing but happy kids – and the parents looked happy, too.
“As long as everybody is safe, then it’s a success to me.”
Their next event is scheduled for Aug. 30-31.
Details: Visit facebook.com/greatamericanrodeocompany.