Rodeo time with a heavy heart

The 60th annual Siloam Springs Rodeo returns to town this week, and some will celebrate it with a heavy heart.

Members of the Siloam Springs Riding Club and attendees of the rodeo will be reminded throughout the weekend of the death of Jerald Holly Smith, who was the owner of Wing Rodeo Company since 1969.

Wing Rodeo has been the rodeo stock supplier of the Siloam Springs Rodeo.

Smith died Feb. 24 at the age of 85 in Texas.

Siloam Springs Riding Club member Karen Davis said Smith's death is being remembered all throughout rodeos across the region, and that will also be the case in Siloam Springs on Saturday night.

The 60th annual event will be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Siloam Springs Rodeo Grounds, located off of Cheri Whitlock Drive.

The festivities actually started Monday with Mayor John Mark Turner signing a proclamation declaring this week as Siloam Springs Rodeo Week.

A Rodeo Street Dance will be held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the American Legion Community Building Parking Lot, featuring the Boston Mountain Playboys. The event will move inside the Community Building if there is rain.

The rodeo will begin each night, Thursday through Saturday, at 7:30 p.m. with Mutton Bustin', followed by the Kiddie Grand Entry at 7:45 and the Grand Entry around 8 p.m. There will also be a nightly calf scramble for kids ages 12-and-under.

Rodeo events will start after the Grand Entry.

During the rodeo events, contestants will be competing in events including bareback, saddle bronc, bull riding, calf roping, bull dogging (steer wrestling), team roping, barrel racing (junior and senior), ladies breakaway and ranch saddle bronc.

Thursday is Kids Night at the rodeo, where all kids 12-and-under receive free admission with a paid adult.

From 10 a.m. to noon on Friday, there will be a Special Kids Rodeo, geared toward children with special needs. Adults with special needs are welcome as well. Among the events planned are barrel racing, horseback rides, face painting, bucking stations and wagon rides. Lunch also will be provided.

On Saturday there will be a parade at 4 p.m., which starts at Siloam Springs Middle School parking lot on Tulsa Street.

Parade prizes are: Best of Show: 1st -- $75, 2nd -- $50, 3rd -- $25. Best Buggy $50, Best Wagon $50, Best Riding Club $50. Winners will be announced Saturday night. The club invites people to bring out their wagons, cars, etc. Any entry is welcome.

General admission is $10 for adults and $5 for kids ages 7-12. Kids 6 and under get in free.

Advance tickets are $8 and can be purchased at Generations Bank, Powell Feeds, Grand Savings Bank, Sassafras and Pioneer Pizza in Gentry.