Hundreds turn out for rodeo

ALTENBURG, Mo. -- Hundreds flocked the second day of the eighth annual Perryville County Community Rodeo where riders from the U.S. and Canada came for bronc riding, bull riding and mutton busting.

The rodeo, sanctioned by the American Cowboy Rodeo Association and International Professional Rodeo Association, was at the East Perry Fairgrounds in Altenburg both Friday and Saturday.

The evenings began at 6:30 p.m. with opportunities for younger riders to participate in a calf scramble and mutton busting. There were 26 mutton busters Saturday and 16 Friday.

To score in mutton busting, a rider had to grab the fleece of the lamb and hang on for six seconds. Participants received prize gift bags with mostly educational materials such as markers, activity books and puzzles, according to Janet Schuessler, the co-coordinator for mutton busting along with her husband, Bob.

Some parents were nervous as they watched their young children ride the sheep and risk falling underfoot.

"I was a nervous wreck," said Angie Schuessler of Uniontown, Mo. But her daughter, Kaylin, said she wasn't scared at all.

Schuessler said there has never been an injury in the four years the children's event has been held at the rodeo.

KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.com Steve Gussert adjusted his arm brace before events Saturday at the Perry County Community Rodeo in Altenburg, Mo.

Brad Moll, chairman of the Perry County Community Rodeo, said the annual rodeo had been a popular community event for the last eight years, but could not explain why the Altenburg rodeo was able to draw riders from places like Quebec.

"They come once, the word spreads; they come again, they like it. What can I tell you?" he said.

The rodeo is an opportunity to raise money for local community organizations, according to Moll. The proceeds of the event are split evenly among the Perryville Chamber of Commerce, the East Perry Junior Chamber of Commerce and the East Perry Fairgrounds Committee.

Moll said the crowd for both days was a little down this year, but he attributed the smaller crowd Friday to a tornado watch placed on the area until 7 p.m.

"It'll start trickling as the night goes on," he said.

Billy Griffin of Kansas City, Mo., ranked third in the world for bareback riding and the winner of last year's bareback riding event, came back this year to tie for first at 80 points with Josh Cragar of Columbia, Tenn.

"You can't beat the crowd here," Griffin said.

tthomas@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 197

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Perry County Community Rodeo

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