Saddling up for a good cause

Where one rodeo leaves off, another picks up. This month, the Terrebonne Livestock and Agricultural Fair Association will host the Terrebonne Livestock and Agricultural Fair Scholarship Rodeo.

The scholarship rodeo replaces the Cody Antill Memorial Bull Bash, which will be held at a later date.

The Cody Antill Memorial Bull Bash was held annually in the memory of Antill, who was killed in a car accident in 2002. Antill was 18-years-old, and a senior at H.L. Bourgeois High School, in Houma.

Antill was a regular on the rodeo circuit while growing up, often participating in different events with is father.

The scholarship rodeo starts at 7 p.m., on May 12, at the Houma Airbase Arena, and will include the usual rodeo events such as bull riding, sheep riding, calf and steer riding, barrel racing , team roping, individual roping and kid’s calf scrambling.

This particular rodeo has become a yearly tradition for May. “We decided that since we didn’t have a May rodeo before,” said Beth Lovell, rodeo chairman, “that we would start one as a scholarship program.”

According to Lovell, the competitors must be a member of a club or contest that has previously run in one of the Terrebonne Livestock and Agricultural Fair’s rodeos.

There is no limit on how many participants are accepted, and Monday, May 7, is when the organization will take callins for applications.

The action starts at 7 p.m. at the Houma Airbase Arena on Moffet Road.

Admission is $8 for adults and $2 for children 2- to 12-years-old. Kids under 2-years-old get in free.

“This event normally attracts a large fan base,” said Lovell.

The Livestock Association is also hosting its monthly horse show at the Houma Airbase Arena, on May 6, starting at 9 a.m. “In the morning we have our judged events, and then at noon, it starts our speed events,” said Lovell.

“They have barrel racing, arena race, pole-bending, et cetera.”

Lovell said high-point ribbons for the top five placements are given out at the end of the day. “Then at the end of the year, we give saddles and buckles away.”

Refreshments and concessions will be sold.

For more information, call (985) 580-2445.