Sold-out competition brings bull riding, barrel racing and more to Dempsey Farms this weekend
By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Bull riding, barrel racing and a field of competitors chasing prize money will take over Dempsey Farms this weekend as the St. Helena Low Country Pro Rodeo makes its debut.
The sold-out event is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6 and 7, at the farm, 1576 Sea Island Parkway. Gates open at 5:30 p.m., with competition beginning at 7:30 p.m. both nights.
Southern Rodeo Company, the family-owned business producing the event, is partnering with the Dempseys to bring its arena, bleachers and production crew to the island.
Dawn Brooks, a spokesperson for the company, said the community’s response has already prompted organizers to bring in larger bleachers.
“There’s been great support with the community, the contestants,” Brooks said. “It being a sold out crowd, I don’t know why it wouldn’t” return.
For spectators attending their first rodeo, the evening will offer a mix of timed events and roughstock competition, in which riders try to stay aboard bucking horses or bulls.
The program will open with bareback and saddle bronc riding, followed by steer wrestling, tie-down roping and cowgirls breakaway roping. After a brief intermission, competition will continue with barrel racing and team roping before closing with bull riding.
Brooks said bull riding and barrel racing tend to be crowd favorites. Her own favorite is horse riding, a sport her child participates in.
The contestants will be competing for more than applause.
The rodeo is sanctioned by the International Professional Rodeo Association and Southern Rodeo Association. Brooks said competitors spend the season pursuing prize money and a chance to qualify for their associations’ finals.
“Those contestants compete for prize money to go on to try to win that world title,” she said.
Different contestants are expected to compete each night, giving spectators who secured tickets for both evenings a different field to watch, even as the program follows the same format.
The associations also allow local competitors to enter on permits, Brooks said, although she had not yet confirmed whether any area residents would be participating when interviewed.
Before competition begins, ticket holders can visit food vendors and shop for items including boutique merchandise and leather goods. Brooks said preshow musical entertainment is also planned.
“We just encourage people to go around to the vendors, visit, get a good seat,” she said.
The main performance typically lasts two to 2½ hours, Brooks said, but spectators may want to linger afterward.
Contestants and rodeo personnel will gather in the arena to talk with visitors, pose for pictures and let children pet horses, she said.
Additional competition, known as “slack,” may follow after crews reset the arena. Slack gives contestants who are not scheduled for the main performance an opportunity to compete, and spectators can stay to watch.
Although the production is new to St. Helena Island, the business has decades of family history behind it.
Brooks said her father-in-law, Robin Brooks, started in the rodeo business about 30 years ago. Her husband, Josh, became involved, and she joined the operation after marrying into the family. The company has grown from producing a few rodeos to about 18 on its schedule this year, she said.
The company handles everything from setting up the arena and seating to running the competition. For the St. Helena event, the Dempseys have helped secure sponsorships and coordinate vendors.
Brooks said the goal is to build a lasting partnership. A return would depend on how the inaugural event works for everyone involved, but the company generally tries to keep returning rodeos on the same weekend each year.
“When we book rodeos and we go into business with people, we typically don’t like to do a one and done,” she said.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.