Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/993479
than it is anywhere else. "I consider this entertainment," Lee said. "People pay to come see us perform. It's kind of an old saying in our industry, and I think it holds true. 'You're not considered professional unless you're 200 miles from home.' It took people a while to realize that I have the talent to perform here." It's definitely worked out well for the Riding Club and attendees of the event. "We feel really fortunate to have him here," Davis said. "He keeps the crowd in it. He helps us in a lot of other ways too. He helps with sponsors, helps with city. He's a good asset to the club and our rodeo." And Lee doesn't work alone either. He and his wife, Jerrica, are a team when it comes to announcing. "She's the one that is playing music, kind of orchestrating setting the tone," Lee said. "If you're watching a movie and you're at a serious part in the movie, you need some music to set that tone. She's a really important part to that. She can help me set the tone for whatever we're doing out there in the arena and she's really good at it." Jeff and Jerrica Lee have been married for 10 years and have three boys — Kody, 8; Kolt, 5; and Kord, 1. "I don't get to work with her everywhere I go, but the rodeos I get to work with her I feel like there's a lot less stress on my mind, because we're kind of in tune on how things should go," he said. "I think I have a real hardcore focus on that entertainment side. Just being around me, I think my wife picked that up as well. I've been really blessed that she has the mindset and the ability to know how a show should flow. We have a lot of pre-production meetings. A lot of people come to me with ideas. My wife is pretty soft-spoken, but if she speaks up it's usually a pretty good idea to listen to her." And then there's Dusty. Dusty is Lee's 23-year-old American paint horse and co-star of his announcing gig. "Dusty's old enough to drink," Lee jokes. Lee does all of his announcing on horseback on Dusty on the arena floor. Lee said announcing on horseback is something of a declining trend. "There's fewer and fewer guys that announce horseback just for obvious reasons," he said. "It's easier to get on an airplane and fly to your rodeo and walk up to the announcer stand and do that. Cost wise, the cost to bring me to a show compared to a guy that will walk in, he's got less cost involved. He doesn't have a whole horse trailer and horse to perform with. I think it's not necessarily a dying breed, but you see a lot less guys doing it." Lee cites legendary local announcers Phil Gardenhire and Danny Newland as role-model announcers. "I always knew that for me announcing, it was unnatural for me to be in the announcer's stand, because I grew up watching great announcers perform on horseback." Lee said Dusty's performance is just as important. "Probably another critical part of me being good is the way he performs out there," Lee said. "That's being calm, cool and collected out in the arena. Literally, we're right in the middle of all this chaos. You think about him being right there, when the bronc riding is going on. I'm right up against the chute, because the stock hunter doesn't necessarily need me out there in the arena. I don't want to get hit by another bucking horse. … I'm right up there against it and (Dusty) doesn't flinch a bit. For me to sit there and read my paper — I'm reading my information, and I'm announcing the rodeo — for me to be able to do that takes a very special horse." When the Siloam Springs Rodeo is over, Lee will turn his attention to the Rodeo of the Ozarks in Springdale, followed by the International Finals Youth Rodeo in Shawnee, Okla., where there will be 11 performances in six days. He'll also head out at some point to New Jersey for the longest running weekly rodeo in the United States. "Usually that happens from May to September, and I go up there frequently throughout the summer to announce," he said. "I've been pretty fortunate to have a career to stay busy in. Most guys don't have that luxury of being busy all year long. I have slow periods, but I've been very blessed over the last several years being able to do the events that I do." Lee feels extremely fortunate to be doing his hometown Siloam Springs Rodeo. "The one thing about this rodeo," he said. "I'll do a lot of big rodeos and I'll do a lot of small rodeos. I see it every weekend. I see good ones and I see bad ones. The one thing Siloam has going for it is they care. To have a core group of people out here, they're here putting in months of preparation getting ready for this event. And to see the crowd that comes out here, that's kind of a tell-tale sign. You see some places keep having a rodeo, but there may only be 200 to 300 people there in the grandstand. That's not fun for me. I'd rather announce for a packed house like anybody would like to perform in front of the most people they can. "This rodeo's fun. The crowd comes out every night. I know a lot of people that are around here, but there's a lot of people don't know who I am. A lot of people don't even know I'm from Siloam. It's just fun to come here and see this rodeo continue on. Sixty years is probably one of the oldest traditions and continuously running events that this town has." Lee Continued from Front Page "My reign as 2017 Miss Siloam Springs Rodeo Queen has been an extraordinary experience that has helped me grow in so many ways within horsemanship, socializing, and being a role model to fellow and future riders. I have represented Siloam at many rodeos this year including, Miami, OK; Rodeo of the Ozarks; and Searcy County Fair Rodeo. Thank you to all of my family and friends for the support that was given throughout my year as queen. It has been an honor to represent Siloam, and I look forward to passing on the title to the future 2018 rodeo queen." Brittney Doshier H 60th Annual Siloam Springs Rodeo H 10B n Wednesday, June 13, 2018 Siloam Springs Herald-Leader