FORT SMITH (KFSM)-Saturday(June 4) was the last night for the annual Old Fort Days Rodeo and it was the biggest night of the week for the event.
Team Roper, Destry Graham said there's nothing like competing on the last night of the rodeo.
“It's an adrenaline, you just can't explain it,” Graham said. “When a guy backs in there and he goes 4,2 Saturday night, Fort Smith, it's great.”
From the ‘Muttin Bustin’ qualifying event to the horses and flags, everyone has their favorite part.
“I love watching the dandies,” Jordan Dart said. “I used to ride horses, when I was a little girl I always wanted to be a Dandy, so that's my favorite part, still.”
“I like it all, but the Muttin Bustin, the little kids,” Rodeo Chairman, Randy Mizell said. “I really enjoy seeing them, how excited they get, you know, when they make a good ride. I really like that.”
The rodeo has seen more people this week than it did last year. Without the final numbers in, Chairman Mizell said he can just tell that the crowd was bigger than it was last year.
“Our attendance has been up all week,” Mizell said. “Thursday night, the weather got us just a little bit, but the rest of the week has all been up, it's very positive, very good.'”
Chairman Mizell said they're also already looking forward to and planning for next year’s Old Fort Days Rodeo.
“We always think about next year,” Mizell said, “make notes the whole time, and try to figure out what we did right. This thing's been here for 83 years and we're really proud of it. We think we put on a good rodeo.”
During Friday night’s performance by the Fort Smith Dandies, one of the performers’ horses collided with another horse and she fell off. She was taken by paramedics to the hospital, but she has no serious injuries. Chairman Mizell said she is okay and expected to make a full recovery. The Dandies have alternate performers for each event, just in case something does go wrong.
For more information about The Old Fort Days Rodeo, you can visit the rodeo website.