South Congaree, SC (Paul Kirby) - After being postponed in July due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the 4th Annual South Congaree Championship Rodeo is scheduled to return in just a few weeks. It will be held on September the 25th and 26th, 2020 at the South Congaree Equestrian Arena located at 395 Oak St. in South Congaree (West Columbia), SC.
Rance Woodley, the event’s promoter, says that people are ready to get back to the excitement of a real championship rodeo. “We have had hundreds of rodeo fans and many of our sponsors contact us over the past months asking us when we would be ready to rodeo again. Now, we feel like the time is right for the 2020 event. At one point, it looked like the entire season might be a complete bust for rodeoing. Here recently however, several promoters held their rodeos and they did so safely and successfully. Both fans and performers are ready to hit the circuit again,” Woodley said recently. “Everyone is ready for the fast-paced action of a rodeo.”
The South Congaree Championship Rodeo Is an IPRA (International Pro Rodeo Association) sanctioned event. In 2016, its inaugural year, it won the IPRA's New Rodeo of the Year Award.
With world class stock provided by Ken Treadway of Laurens, SC, rodeo fans are sure to get their money's worth when it comes to excitement and thrills. “Ken is one of the best stock contractors in the world,” Woodley said. In years past, Treadway has owned world champion bucking broncs like Desperado and War Horse, and world champion bulls like Texas Black Twister and Fast N Furious. “You're going to see a lot of world champion animals in South Congaree,” according to Woodley.
Any rodeo event you’d see anywhere else you're going to see in South Congaree again this year. There will be calf roping, steer wrestling, saddle and bareback bronc riding, barrel racing, and of course everyone's favorite, bull riding! You'll also see some of the best specialty acts in the business in South Congaree, according to Woodley.
The performers and entertainers will also be some of the best in the nation according to Woodley. Many are professional rodeo riders and entertainers who have been sitting idle in terms of rodeoing over the past six months. “They need to get out there and win some big money because each dollar equals a point in the IPRA. To qualify for world championship finals in Oklahoma this year, they have to compile some points and do it quickly,” Woodley explained. “Because we add so much extra money in every event on top of the regular prize money in South Congaree, many of them will be itching to get here and rake in those dollars and points.”
The South Congaree championship rodeo gates will open at 5:00 p.m. both Friday and Saturday nights. The rodeo starts at 8:00 p.m. Adult tickets are $18.00 and youth tickets for children 6 to 12 are just $14 each. Children age 5 and under are admitted free.
If you or your business would like to be a sponsor of the South Congaree Championship rodeo, you can email Janice Woodley at jwoodley@yahoo.com. You can buy your tickets before the event and save a few dollars on each. For more information or to buy tickets go to www.southcongareechampionshiprodeo.com.
