Ropers, riders compete for cash prizes
Justin Thigpen bolted out of the gate to rope his calf, throw it to the ground and tie its legs together. His time was 9.4 seconds, good enough for the lead.
The was no applause from the crowd. In fact, there was no crowd. Just a few curiosity seekers who seemed more interested in talking with friends than the action in the ring.
Welcome to slack, kind of like the rodeo before/after the rodeo. This where the surplus of competitors wind up when there is no longer space during the actual rodeo performance.
However, the times count, and the money is the same as it is for those in the actual performance. In other words, the winner of the event could be someone who nobody saw at the rodeo.
This happens at most every rodeo, including this weekend’s PRCA Fort Myers Rodeo at the Lee County Posse Arena. The calf ropers and team ropers got up bright and early to compete at 9 a.m.
For many of the ropers, slack is a godsend because it gives them the opportunity to compete twice in one day and doubling their chances of earning money.
Bryan McClellan, of Climax, Ga., was one of those who came on a chilly Friday morning, attempted to win money as he was en route to another rodeo in Fort Pierce that night, and Davie the following night for another slack.
“I like the performances. It works out that slack lets you go to three rodeos rather than just two. If you win in slack, it still gets in the paper and the money still counts,” McClellan said.
John Alley, a team roper from Clarksville, Tenn., came 13 hours for this rodeo and was also going to Fort Pierce afterward.
“They only take 10 for each performance per event. This gives us a fair chance to compete. It helps us a lot. It lets us get an extra rodeo in,” Alley said. “We love the morning slacks. And you don’t want to run 70 barrel racers, that kills your performance.”
Speaking of barrel racers, most of the slackers take part in that event, and with 48 extra barrel racers and their desire to be able to work in the day (most of them are local), their slack was held after the rodeo at about 10 p.m., lasting until well past 11, long after the near sell-out crowd had left.
“When we did it in the morning, they didn’t appreciate having to take off work. And on Saturday there was another local rodeo in Davie that had their slack,” said promoter and barrel racer Margo Crowther. “I like the morning, too, but a lot of the girls requested the night.”
Jenna Brantley, of Fort Myers, competed in slack. She said the time doesn’t really matter. Some rings are better in the day than at night.
“The time doesn’t really bother me, as long as it’s not raining. It was a little chilly for Florida, but it’s a nice change,” Brantley said, who banged her leg against a barrel and earned herself a nice raspberry for her troubles. “Going fast into metal isn’t good.”
Despite the cold and competing with the fair, the rodeo still got two excellent performances with near capacity crowds.
“We nearly packed it out. It was really fun. Every event was filled and it was a great turnout. I didn’t think it would be this cold, but I love it,” said promoter (and barrel racer) Margo Crowther. I’d rather be this cold than hot.”
Trent McFarland was the new clown, who brought a couple new acts with him, and Racer Beotkin was the new announcer, who brought a new vibe.