The Arena Is Rodeo Ready
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
St. Landry Parish youths may not be aware that events such as goat tying, bull riding, roping livestock and barrel racing are considered sports.
What is evident however is there are volunteer youth rodeo associations that have been created to teach. encourage and cultivate those necessary rodeo-oriented skills, with a well-maintained and recently renovated Yambilee agricultural area as an appropriate venue.
A two-day rodeo event staged by the Diamond D-L Youth Rodeo Association at the St. Landry Ag Arena concluded on Saturday night, as about 50 youths from the parish and elsewhere showed their skills at riding bulls, navigating barrels on horseback and wrestling steers.
The youths competed on Friday night and Saturday morning. Then on Saturday night, the young competitors were allowed to participate, ride alongside and participate with professional rodeo veterans.
“It’s all about getting the kids involved and helping keep them off the streets,” said D-L Association president Kelly Cormier.
Cormier and vice-president Blaine Griffin along with their volunteer staff orchestrated the weekend event at the spacious arena, which was expanded several years ago by parish government to primarily hold youth rodeo events.
What has been important, Cormier said on Saturday night, is that rodeo is indeed a sport that the D-L volunteers and similar state youth rodeo associations are staging in order to promote an activity that provides its share of physical demands.
“What we want to do is keep rodeo alive and we are doing that by reaching out to the kids. We’re trying to bring (rodeo) back. What the parish president (Jessie Bellard) is doing is what has been necessary to help with that,” Cormier added.
Cormier even transported his own herd of bulls to the arena over the weekend.
There were regular-sized bulls in addition to the mini-bulls whose size accommodates the younger or more experienced riders.
The D-L Association also hosted a two-day February rodeo at the Yambilee Arena. There are four other D-L-sponsored weekend events at the Ag Arena that have been booked beginning in October.
Last week the Parish Council appointed Brent Breaux to a vacancy on the Ag Arena board.
Breaux, the Cankton police chief, told the Council that there are 14 youth and professional rodeos scheduled for the arena this year.
And evidently Breaux is a friend of youth rodeo activities.
“I’ve been involved with horses all my life and we are going to get involved with youth riding associations and we are going to conduct rodeos at the arena,” Breaux told the Council when he was applying for the arena vacancy.
Breaux said it’s important to generate more interest in high school rodeos.
“I want to help get this parish back into more kids’ activities that are associated with livestock and caring for them in addition to reaching out to the 4-H clubs.
“Overall my goal is to bring back the high school rodeo and give our kids something,” Breaux said.
