What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1471106
petting zoos and pony rides to fairs from Boise, Idaho, to Roswell, N.M., and Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska to the territory of Puerto Rico. While covid-19 kept all those events shuttered in 2020, she even put up a 40-by-60 foot tent, created a Facebook page, made new signs with Arkansas farm facts, and opened a petting zoo and pony rides at her ranch near Hickory Creek Park on Beaver Lake. "These are things I think kids need to see and do and know," Boger says of interaction with the animals. "So many people have never seen a sheep or a goat or a pot-bellied pig. They need to — and I want them to!" And if she can't do that at the rodeo, she can at least introduce kids to Shetland ponies and her mantra that it's "important for kids to be able to touch an animal and appreciate animals and understand we're all part of the cycle of agriculture." Pony rides will cost $7, and Boger says the age of the riders matters less than their size. "I try not to make the ponies carry more than 70 pounds." The next offering for kids is the long-popular Mutton Bustin', which allows youngsters 4 to 7 years old to take their turns riding a sheep. It's a huge attraction, Culver says, with 30 kids a night mounting their woolly steeds. Even the ones who are nervous and don't ride this year will almost certainly come back next year, Culver says, and some will stay on "as long as the sheep will let them or until we ask them to get off." There are also "Wild Horse Races" with "bouncy horses" for those who don't want to ride a sheep, and older girls can set their sights on becoming part of the Rodeo of the Ozarks Rounders, an elite drill team on horseback, or competing for the title of Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks or, new this year, Junior Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks. Next to last but not least, this year's entertainment act is Tim "Wild Thang" Lepard and TeamGhostRiders from Pontotoc, Miss., which brings to the arena trained Capuchin monkeys who ride dogs — "and everybody loves that," Culver says. And finally, the free Rodeo of the Ozarks Parade rolls down Emma Avenue west from Parsons Stadium at 3 p.m. June 25. For tickets go to rodeooftheozarks.org, or call 877-92-RODEO (877-927-6336) Parsons stadium 1423 E Emma Ave | Downtown Springdale GatEs OpEn at 6:00 pm RODEO staRts at 7:30 pm Rodeo Parade Saturday, June 25 th at 3 pm June 22 Nd -25 th 2022 77 t h a n n u a l The Rodeo of the Ozarks would like to thank the following sponsors: F U R N I T E U R S AM ' S HARPS H O M E T O W N F R E S H One of the Top 5 Largest Outdoor Rodeos in the country! • All children's tickets for June 22 nd & 23 rd - $10 each • Pre-Rodeo Mutton Busting at 6:30 pm • Susan G. Komen Pink Night on Thursday, June 23 rd Wear your pink! Sponsored by Packaging Specialties 6 WHAT'S UP! JUNE 19-25, 2022 SPRINGDALE Rodeo Continued From Page 5 The free Rodeo of the Ozarks Parade rolls down Emma Avenue west from Parsons Stadium at 3 p.m. June 25. (NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo/Flip Putthoff)