COWBOY UP !

The Arizona State High School Championship Rodeo was held in Payson on June 10th through June 13th. It draws the finest cowboy and cowgirls from Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. “It’s the best of the best,” said Charlene Hunt, town recreation specialist. The rodeo was held at the Payson Event Center located to the south of town across from the Tonto Apache Indian Reservation on Hwy 87. The contestants entered numerous events such as pole bending, goat tying, bareback riding, steer wrestling, bulls, tie-down roping and team roping. Their hopes were to place at the top of their event, securing them a berth in the National High School Rodeo Finals to be held next month in Farmington, N.M.

My involvement with this event included the initial preparation of painting the entire rodeo arena. This began a week prior to event. I was involved in the replacing of the entire chain link fence that surrounds the bottom of the arena. This is a safety requirement to prevent youngsters from entering the arena from the spectator area. Closer to event day, I help set up the pens for livestock which were reserved in advance and rented out to the participants. The rental monies received ($50.00 per pen) is a huge fundraiser for the Parks Department. Another duty of mine was to clear the area in which the vendors would be positioned throughout the 4-day event. During the event, I worked directly under town recreation specialist Charlene Hunt who has organized these types of rodeos for the past 20 years.

Working for the Town of Payson, I have discovered the numerous equestrian programs offered here. The Town owns and operates the facility locals refer to as “The Rodeo Grounds.” These grounds have held a place in Payson history and were once housed on Main Street during the early cowboy days. Besides the High School Rodeo, Payson holds events every Wednesday night such as barrel racing, poles and roping. This is also a place individuals can go to ride their horses. I have been given a great opportunity working with P-Town, as having a rodeo arena within the Parks Department is a special and unique opportunity.