PRORODEO Sports News | January 24, 2025

RODEO SPOTLIGHT HOMESTEAD, FLA.

The southernmost PRORODEO remains hopeful amidst challenges Enduring Spirit

BY ALEX DODD T he Homestead (Fla.) Championship Rodeo, the Western lifestyle. Homestead hosted its first-ever rodeo at Municipal Park on Nov. 11, 1949. Despite an array of financial, political and weather-related challenges over the better part of the last century, the rodeo endures as a symbol of stability and tradition in the rapidly expanding landscape of Miami-Dade County. “To know that we’ve had a rodeo going that long in South Florida is pretty incredible,” committee member and former Miss Rodeo Florida McKenna Andris said. “But this year, going into it, we’re even more excited because last year we were nominated for Medium Outdoor Rodeo of the Year, and it makes us want to do bigger and better things to hopefully one day win that award.” When people think of the Sunshine State, they conjure images of sun kissed beaches, tropical vacations, Disney World or the other professional sports leagues and teams in the state. But during the 2024 season, Florida hosted 20 more PRORODEO events than the Cowboy State of Wyoming. The 2024 Homestead Championship Rodeo capitalized on the exploding interest in rodeo and drew upwards of 11,000 fans to its historic arena for the three-day January event. “In our community, a lot of people still don’t know that there’s a rodeo in South Florida, even though we market it,” Andris said. “So, as they’re finding out, we’re getting to see a lot of first-time rodeo goers. And our community in Homestead is really supportive. “We have commissioners who are sponsors of our event, and they want to see it grow and flourish even more than it has in the past.” In recent years, the Homestead Championship Rodeo has attracted southernmost PRORODEO, celebrated its 75th anniversary last season and continues to provide tourists and residents of South Florida alike a look into the

diehard rodeo fans and curious spectators from across the country and the world. “It’s a different feel and demographic when it comes to our spectators,” Andris said. “When you sit in the stands, there are people around you from all over the place. We get a lot of tourists that come in and go to our event. “Our Friday night performance is typically more of our local people from Homestead. But then our Saturday and Sunday matinees typically fill in with people from all over, from New Zealand to France, and you see so many different cultures come together.” The first iteration of the Homestead Rodeo enjoyed two decades of prosperity before financial difficulties arose in the late 1970s. But the committee banded together and pressed on to brighter days in the 1980s before another tragedy rocked the city and rodeo. In 1985, former Homestead Rodeo Association president and beloved community member Dr. John W. DeMilly – affectionately known as Doc – was murdered. The HRA rededicated the rodeo arena in his honor as the Doc DeMilly Rodeo Arena in 1989. Then Hurricane Andrew descended on South Florida on Aug. 24, 1992, devastating Homestead and destroying the arena in the process. The Homestead Rodeo took a year off to rebuild but returned to form in 1994. The HRA is once again experiencing prosperity but faces new challenges as the City of Homestead grows and expands. If the past has any bearing on the present, the Homestead Championship Rodeo will continue to bring the thrill and excitement of PRORODEO to South Florida. “I’m hopeful that this is just one of those things that we’re dealing with right now,” Andris said. “But in the long run, our love for it will show and shine through to hopefully get the community and everyone else on our side as well. We’re hopeful.”

Photo courtesy Homestead Rodeo Association/Arnaud Pages Flag runners prepare to enter Doc DeMilly Rodeo Arena during a performance of the 2024 Homestead (Fla.) Championship Rodeo.

ProRodeo Sports News 1/24/2025

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