Hernando Today
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Cattlemen Put Rodeo Out To Pasture
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Published: October 2, 2008
BROOKSVILLE - The Hernando County Cattlemen's Association's annual rodeo has hit the dirt.
After more than three decades, the association decided to put the event out to pasture after attendance sank to new lows, said association President Sam Sikes.
Last year, the rodeo actually cost the association money, Sikes said. That's a problem because the event held every October is supposed to bring in dollars to help fund projects and trips for local 4H and FFA members.
"It kind of burned out, really," Sikes said. "The expenses went up, and attendance went down. I think it'd reached its peak in this area."
But the association has hopes that a new dirt-centric spectacle set for this weekend will bring in the crowds: A garden tractor pull will take place this Saturday at the Hernando County Fairgrounds in Brooksville.
Gates open at 2 p.m. Youth competition starts at 3 p.m., main events at 6 p.m.
This isn't the kind of event where monster trucks two stories tall pull a sled the size of a small yacht, said event organizer Richard Klimas. But there is still plenty of noisy horsepower and flying dirt, he said.
"It's not like the large scale, multi-engine fire-breathers," Klimas said. "It's more like an old-fashioned, country get-together."
But it's fun to watch, he said.
Some competitors show up on a basic lawn mower with the blade deck removed and a wheelie bar attached. They hitch up to a sled that gets heavier the farther it goes and the more dirt that piles up beneath it.
Contestants in the modified class gut the engines of a basic mower and add aftermarket parts to beef up the horsepower, enabling a lawn mower from the 1970s to pull "3,000 pounds of dead weight," said Klimas, who hopes to have a modified tractor ready for his children to enter this weekend.
And then there's the mini-rod class, whose entrants ride machines sporting big block V-8 engines and designs that can look like a cross between a tractor and a dragster.
Friendly rivalries have emerged on the Florida tractor pull circuit between families, businesses and farms that emblazon their machines with names and logos. The prizes are ribbons, trophies and bragging rights.
"It's sort of like NASCAR for the little guy," Klimas said.
Klimas said many people enjoyed the rodeo, but it wasn't grabbing the attention of the average resident. Fewer people connect with the horses and bulls in the age of NASCAR, he said.
Sponsors in Hernando County and throughout the region have pitched in to make the event a success, Klimas said.
"It's a tremendous amount of effort by a lot people who know that if they all just give a little, that little bit adds up to enough," he said.
Jim Lambert is a Florida City resident who started entering tractor pulls in 2001 and now helps run the events throughout west central Florida. Lambert, who will have a few machines on hand Friday, including his roughly 350-horsepower Whiskey Runner, said there are some similarities between the rodeo and the tractor events.
"At the rodeo you straddle 2,000 pounds and enjoy the ride," Lambert said. "This is about the same way. You straddle 2,000 pounds and hold on. And, of course, there's the noise and the dirt."
But at a tractor pull even 6-year-olds can enjoy the thrill of the ride, Lambert said. The kids pilot the machine as adults walk alongside holding a line tied to a kill switch.
Lambert recalls the joy of one 6-year-old boy at an Ocala event who got to run a tractor for the first time.
"If you could just see his expression through his little helmet," Lambert said, "that's worth a million dollars right there."
If you go
WHAT: Garden Tractor Pull, sponsored by the Hernando Cattlemen's Association.
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 4; gates open at 2 p.m.; youth competition at 3 p.m.; main event at 6 p.m.
WHERE: Hernando County Fairgrounds, 6436 Broad St., Brooksville.
ADMISSION: $10 adults, $6 children ages 6-11 at the door; $8 and $4 in advance.
CONTACT: General information, 796-4552; to find out how to compete, call Richard Klimas, 585-1062 or Jim Lambert, 352-302-9992.
Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.
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