Roping in the fans

One thing is for sure about the 17th Annual Show Me Center Championship Rodeo -- you are going to get two hours of edge-of-your-seat action, from bareback riding to the ladies barrel racing, and you might even see a cowboy or cowgirl from your hometown.

"Everything was nice," said Jason Stroup, a team roper from Gordonville, during Sunday's final rounds of competition. "I had a little bad luck, but everything was all right. The ground could've been a little better, but we'll be back next year."

Troy Amoss of Poplar Bluff participated in calf roping and was impressed with Cape Girardeau and the rodeo.

"Cape's a good town. I like to come in and shop," said Amoss. "I like Cape a lot. But I plan on winning today. This is a PRCA rodeo and everybody here is a professional. This is as good as it gets."

Of course this rodeo is not all about local participants. It's also a chance to catch some of the circuit's brightest stars.

Bill Huber, one of the top calf ropers on the circuit and a native of Iowa, says he loves the indoor rodeo scene.

"I've only been here one other time, but I like indoor rodeos," said Huber. "You don't have to worry about getting rained on. I like Missouri, too. I do about 34 rodeos in Missouri a year."

The rodeo featured several exciting moments for the fans, including a calf having to be carried out of the ring with a makeshift stretcher, and one cowboy almost being completely speared by a very unhappy bull.

However, the fans weren't the only ones who were entertained. David Rodson, a team roper from Kansas, said he enjoyed his visit here.

"I love Cape, and I love the small towns that come out and support the rodeos," he said. "The fans are just great. This is my first year, and this is the first year they've had team roping that I know of. I've stopped through here a couple of times and the people are pretty hospitable.

"The Show Me Center is awesome. I wish we had one of these in southwest Kansas."

Some of the big winners of the day were Daymon Gast, who won the steer wrestling competition with a time of 3.2 seconds, and Ken Bailey, who won a tight calf roping competition with a time of 9.1 seconds.

Jason Creekmore came out on top in bull riding with a score of 79, while Tim Wilkinson won bareback riding by one point with a score of 78.

Tyler Corrington put on a nice display in saddle bronc riding, winning with a score of 77, and Michelle Simms was the fastest barrel racer with a time of 11.85 seconds.

In team roping, the teams of Wayne Knutson -Jason Thompson and Cory Smothers-Ty Ferrell tied with a time of 5.6 seconds.