McGee knows ropes of sponsorship on rodeo circuit

~ The Cape Girardeau cowboy finds funds for road competitions.

Matt McGee has it down.

Without sponsors, the sport of rodeo would be a lonely circuit.

McGee was quick to credit his after his turn in tie-down roping Friday night at the 19th annual Show Me Center Championship Rodeo in Cape Girardeau.

"A growing thing in rodeo is sponsors," said McGee, a Cape Girardeau resident of the past two years. "It makes it possible for us to be out on the road."

McGee, for example, came home from Texas on Wednesday to compete in this weekend's event. He will return to Texas this Wednesday to compete in the San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo, the nation's second-largest rodeo. He will compete in 75 to 80 rodeos this year -- five or six per week when the summer circuit heats up.

His time wasn't so good Friday night -- a fraction over 15 seconds -- but he will return tonight to compete in team roping with Ty Atchison, a Jackson resident who is on the rodeo team at Tennessee-Martin. Atchison will compete in three events tonight.

McGee said this season has gotten off to a decent start. But last year was a big one, as McGee won the PRCA Great Lakes Circuit championship with a score of 25.2 seconds on three runs, and he also won the region's all-around championship, which crowns the top performer in multiple events. His tie-down title qualified him for the PRCA National Circuit Finals Rodeo this March in Pocatello, Idaho.

"It's a chance to win $30,000, and you're competing against the 24 best tie-down ropers in the nation," McGee said.

Atchison also is a defending Great Lakes champion, having won saddle-bronc riding.

McGee, 27, grew up in Missouri, moved to Alabama for high school and college and moved back to Cape Girardeau about three years ago. He began competing in rodeos at age 5 and started on the professional circuit about 10 years ago.

His goal is to reach the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.

"It's kind of everybody's goal," McGee said. "That's what I try for every year. If we win $10,000 or $15,000 in the winter, we stay out after it. If we don't, we go to the Great Lakes circuit."

McGee will go back to Texas for an event with $20,000 prize, but he said it was worth the trip back for the Show Me Center event. He said competing was a challenge with a short arena and sticky mud that was just put down the floor prior to the event.

"Every situation is different," McGee said. "The calf plays a big role. That's rodeo, kind of the luck of the draw. There's no perfect situation. If there was a guarantee you would win every time, everybody would do it."

As for those sponsors, McGee pulls a Busenbark living quarters trailer when he's on the road. He also sells them to other rodeo cowboys.

His other sponsor is Flickerwood Arena, which he notes is hosting a youth rodeo event tonight.

"There are a lot of people competing here that grew up competing in the youth rodeos," McGee said. "A lot of people don't realize how much rodeo is going on in this area."