The next go-round has finally come around for professional rodeo fans on the Grand Strand.
There will be buckin’ broncs, rank bulls, buckles, boots and chutes when the cowboys, cowgirls and rodeo clowns converge on Horry County for two days of roping and riding in June.
The Coastal Cowboy Pro Rodeo will be the first pro rodeo in Horry County in a decade, according to Michael Holmes, one of the organizers for the events slated for June 6-7 in the arena at the Lyman family farm at 5693 Westmoreland Road near Conway.
Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. each day, with the pageantry getting underway at 7:30 p.m., and competition beginning at 8 p.m. nightly.
The two-night stand will include competition in all of the rough-stock events — bull riding, bronc riding and bareback riding — and a variety of timed events to include team roping, calf roping and steer wrestling, as well as barrel racing and break-away roping for cowgirls. They'll be competing for pride, points and cash prizes.
Bull riding is one of the most popular rodeo events, and the most dangerous, Holmes said.
“They’re on an animal that weighs almost 2,000 pounds,” he said. And that’s an animal that rides herd, and doesn’t like to be ridden.
It’s a rough and tumble sport.
“They’re athletes, not participants,” Holmes said, noting it takes a special breed to cowboy up and withstand the rigors of the rodeo circuits.
Holmes said the Coastal Cowboy Rodeo will add $10,000 to the purse, over and above standard participation outlays, in order to attract some of the better competitors for the events sanctioned by the Southern Rodeo Association and International Pro Rodeo Association.
Every point earned in competition counts in the bid for championship buckles awarded by the sanctioning bodies.
Local rodeo organizers will also feed the participants, providing a premium experience they don’t always get on the southern rodeo circuit.
“We want to give them a good experience, and get them to come back again next year,” Holmes said.
He said fans are already ponying up for tickets for a chance to see the rodeo, with advance tickets selling for $25 per night for kids ages 5-12, and $35 for teens and adults in advance on eventbrite. They’ll cost $5 more at the door. Kids under age five are admitted free of charge.
A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Strong Man Luca James Foundation, a nonprofit organization that combats youth cancer, Coastal Cowboy Rodeo’s Jamie Sutherland said.
“There’s been so much interest,” Holmes said. “There are a lot of people really excited to have a rodeo here.”
He said organizers are hoping to sell about 2,500 tickets, but noted the grandstands can seat more than 3,000, and there is room for many more.
While Horry County isn’t exactly rodeo country, there’s a lot of horse farms and riders in the rural areas, and an interest in all equestrian events.
There will also be food trucks at the rodeo — which will utilize 30 acres of the 100-acre farm — as well as a variety of vendors, including many selling tack and Western wear.
A kids zone — to include pony rides, bounce houses and other attractions — is also planned.
The Rat Hole in Socastee features hot food, cold beer and is the venue during the Myrtle Beach Bike Rally offering rodeo events on their 15 acres of grassy fields.
Bikers perusing the Rat Hole create their own entertainment.
The venue’s grass rodeo arena, complemented with bleachers for spectators, offers a myriad of motorcycle-themed contests with cash prizes.
River Lee Weaver, perched on top of the outdoor beverage-service station, watched bikers compete in the “Waitress Carry” rodeo event, one of many bike-themed activities the Rat Hole offers.
The contest requires a duo on a bike, one steers around cones while the other carries a tray with five cups of icewater. There are two rounds, one with the tray held however the waitress can manage and the second round the tray is held above the driver's head. Spilling the cups disqualifies the contestants.
Weaver said her family owns the grounds and the Rat Hole started participating in the Myrtle Beach Bike Rally in 2002.
“I just love the people. It seems to be kind of like a family feeling. We speak to everybody and they always tell us ‘we love your bar, we love the events and the games,’” she said. “It’s safe and it's open and there's a ton of space. They’re not jam packed in here and everybody just kind of enjoys the show and has a good time.”
Each spring and fall rally Weaver said the Rat Hole welcomes a group of “Rodeo Riders.” About 20 loyal bikers that have attended the rally since the beginning arrive, some in campers with their bikes in tow, and either attend or stay on the campgrounds for the duration of the rally.
She said the Rat Hole invites anyone, whether you ride a bike or not, and any ladies interested in bike-themed rodeo events are usually able to hitch a ride with one of the Rodeo Riders.
“Weenie Bite” is another popular contest for biker-duos at the Rat Hole’s rodeo. The man steers the bike toward a hotdog slathered in their lady's choice of ketchup, mustard or mayonnaise. As the bike passes beneath the hotdog hanging from a string, she takes a chop and the one with the biggest bite wins.
Rodeo Rider Donny Booth said he’s seen a record of four inches bitten off the weenie.
Weaver said participants for the rodeo events are volunteers from the crowd, women that just want to have some fun. She said the ages of participants vary on the rally, but are typically older than the age of college co-eds.
As the years of the bike rally pass, she said the increased presence of social media tends to deter younger generations of women from participating in the hotdog-related stunts.
“The younger girls are scared it's going to get out on social media. We have some that will wear hats or something to hide their face, and go by a stage name. We try our best to kind of protect them,” Weaver said.
However, Weaver said the silver vixens take to the stage no problem.
“I think by that point in their life, they just don’t care. They’re retired and they’re living life to their fullest then. Does it matter? At that point it doesn’t matter what you do, just go have fun,” she said.
Booth is a long-time Rodeo Rider at the Rat hole, stays on the campgrounds and volunteers to operate the DJ booth in the evening hours.
“I run all the games and I do all the goofy stuff inside,” he said.
Booth has attended the rally for about 20 years and spent the last ten years camping out on the grounds. He packed up the camper with his wife and 15-year-old son and traveled about 12 hours from Buffalo, New York to stay the entire ten days of the rally at the Rat Hole.
“These are my personal friends,” he said. “Honestly if you don’t understand the culture, you won’t understand the people, but these are the best people in the world.”
He said people ask why he brings his son, but says he's a straight-A student and wants to raise him within bike culture.
Booth said bikers can get a bad reputation as outlaws, but he said it’s just a few bad apples and couldn’t be further from the truth.