PRCA rodeo set for June 22-23

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

The Daniel Dopps Memorial Rodeo, a PRCA event, will be held June 22 and 23 this year at the Optimist Park rodeo grounds.

Organizers of the PRCA rodeo have changed the days this year to help "beat the heat" and have rolled back the time to an 8 p.m. start.

The rodeo is held in memory of Daniel Dopps, who tragically died in the arena in the early days of his professional career. Dopps had been a star performer with the high school rodeo team before turning pro after graduation.

Rodeo was always a big part of Daniel's life," his mother, Ramona Dopps, said. "Anyone who knew Daniel or met him for the first time, knew one thing, he was a cowboy in every way. We hope that you will come celebrate his life at this year's rodeo."

The June 22 performance of the rodeo will be dedicated to "Honoring our Armed Forces" and June 23 will be "Tough Enough To Wear Pink," an initiative sponsored by Wrangler as a 2007 fundraising effort for breast cancer research. The Mountain Home Rodeo Committee asks everyone who attends that Saturday evening to wear a pink shirt, or hat, or any apparel with the color pink, to help support breast cancer awareness.

This year organizers will bring the music of the Jeff Palmer Band to the events of the rodeo. As part of the rodeo excitement, they also are including Stock Saddle Riding and Open Barrel Racing, events that "always seem to bring out the best local cowboys and cowgirls who make a living riding in a saddle everyday," organizers said. "And to further the excitement, we will bring back the family favorite event of the Calf Scramble, where all kids under the age of 12 are invited to join in for an opportunity to win some money. For the smaller buckaroos' we will have the Goat Tail Untying event."

Organizers thanked "the many business and individuals here in Mountain Home and the surrounding areas that have made a financial donation to the rodeo," adding, "We are always looking for volunteers to help make this rodeo a success." Interested persons should call Mike Pope at 587-5294 for more information.

Tickets are on sale now and available at Mountain Home Auto Ranch and D & B Supply (Mountain Home only.)