Southeastern Rodeo Bringing New Event to Jackson

A new Black rodeo presented by the Southeastern Rodeo Association is coming to the City With Soul.

Dr. Rickey Thigpen, President & CEO of Visit Jackson, made the announcement at a press conference held inside the Mississippi Trade Mart this morning.

The Southeastern Rodeo Association will be held Saturday, July 15, 2023, at the Mississippi Coliseum. The doors will open at 6 pm and the rodeo begins at 7:30 pm. Tickets are on sale now.

“We have been abundantly blessed to have experienced nineteen years with the Real Cowboy Association’s Jackson, Mississippi Black Rodeo,” said Dr. Thigpen. “We all know that time can bring about a change. Frank 'Penny' Edwards, the founder of that event passed away – and through unforeseen challenges, that event will not return, but I would be remiss if I didn’t honor the impressionable legacy he left here in the city of Jackson. I applaud Mike Lasseter, Executive Director of the Mississippi Fairgrounds and Floyd Williams, Jr., Visit Jackson’s Director of Sports Activities & Administration, for their contributions to making today a reality.”

The rodeo, a favorite pastime of families for decades, will feature professional cowboys performing phenomenal feats of skill as they compete for $10,500 in prize money.

“I’ll be frank, I was a little nervous about bringing my rodeo to Jackson, Mississippi, following almost twenty years of Mr. Frank 'Penny',” said Walter Hull, President of Southeastern Rodeo Productions. “I spoke to Mr. Penny one time when he found out I was doing rodeos, and his first words to me were, ‘Just do good business,’ and for the last ten years, that’s what we’ve tried to do. On July 15, I hope that I can continue another twenty years of bringing the Black Rodeo to Jackson, Mississippi.”

Attendees can expect bull riding, steer wrestling, bareback riding, calf roping, team roping, barrel racing and live entertainment.

“We have plenty of space on the fairgrounds for parking, for RV camping, a place for tailgating, and just a great time,” said Andy Gipson, Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce. “It’s always exciting and fun to get together for this event and I’m looking forward to seeing it. I want to tell everybody to go out and buy you a straw cowboy hat, because it’s going to be hot July 15, but the action’s going to be hotter!”