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Amid intermittent rain showers, contestants began arriving Friday at the Heart of Oklahoma Exposition Center in anticipation of this year’s International Finals Youth Rodeo. By mid-afternoon, only 34 had arrived. Although most of those were from out of state, the first to show up Friday morning was Robert McMillian from Allen.
Kristy Jones, chairperson of the IFYR Check-in committee, and her mother, Linda Willoughby, a volunteer, said McMillan already was waiting for them when they arrived at 7:30 a.m.
Mike Jackson, operations manager at the Expo, and rodeo coordinator, said Friday afternoon “right now there aren’t any problems. May get to be that way because of parking some of these RVs in the RV park,” he added.
Jackson is hoping the rain, which he described as causing a nuisance, stops for a while. Prior to the rainfall this week the Expo crews had the arenas set up. They had all the arenas slicked off before the rain started.
“If we get some drying Saturday and Sunday we’ll be good by Monday,” he said. The arenas won’t be worked up and readied “until we have to” he stated.
Among the early arrivals Friday after driving 16 hours straight through were Dillon Wooten and Aubree Davis, both 17, from Wilson, N.C. This is Wooten’s first trip to Shawnee to compete at the IFYR and for Davis it’s her third time.
Davis, who will compete in barrel racing, goat tying, pole bending and break-away roping, said she keeps coming back because she enjoys meeting all the news people and she has a good time here.
She and Wooten both will be seniors this fall. Wooten, who is North Carolina’s top calf roper, said he’s here because “a bunch of friends I rodeo with come and I finally got to come this year.”
He and Davis both will go on to compete at the National High School Finals Rodeo in Gillette, Wyo. the week after the IFYR. Davis is the reserve goat tying champion from North Carolina, she said.
Renee Underwood, who heads up the IFYR camping committee which consists of 106 people, said Friday everything seems to be going smoothly so far.
Jackson said 906 back numbers have been issued, indicating there will be about 30 more contestants competing in this year’s IFYR than a year ago. Expo personnel have set up 1,032 stalls and RV reservations on grounds total 514. He said the overflow will be going to the Citizen Potawatomi Nation RV park south of Shawnee.
Some vendors already were setting up in the conference center Friday in anticipation of the opening of the trade show at noon on Sunday. The hours for the show are noon-8 p.m. Sunday and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday. Because the final performance is next Saturday at 10 a.m., the show will close Friday night.
Amid intermittent rain showers, contestants began arriving Friday at the Heart of Oklahoma Exposition Center in anticipation of this year’s International Finals Youth Rodeo. By mid-afternoon, only 34 had arrived. Although most of those were from out of state, the first to show up Friday morning was Robert McMillian from Allen.
Kristy Jones, chairperson of the IFYR Check-in committee, and her mother, Linda Willoughby, a volunteer, said McMillan already was waiting for them when they arrived at 7:30 a.m.
Mike Jackson, operations manager at the Expo, and rodeo coordinator, said Friday afternoon “right now there aren’t any problems. May get to be that way because of parking some of these RVs in the RV park,” he added.
Jackson is hoping the rain, which he described as causing a nuisance, stops for a while. Prior to the rainfall this week the Expo crews had the arenas set up. They had all the arenas slicked off before the rain started.
“If we get some drying Saturday and Sunday we’ll be good by Monday,” he said. The arenas won’t be worked up and readied “until we have to” he stated.
Among the early arrivals Friday after driving 16 hours straight through were Dillon Wooten and Aubree Davis, both 17, from Wilson, N.C. This is Wooten’s first trip to Shawnee to compete at the IFYR and for Davis it’s her third time.
Davis, who will compete in barrel racing, goat tying, pole bending and break-away roping, said she keeps coming back because she enjoys meeting all the news people and she has a good time here.
She and Wooten both will be seniors this fall. Wooten, who is North Carolina’s top calf roper, said he’s here because “a bunch of friends I rodeo with come and I finally got to come this year.”
He and Davis both will go on to compete at the National High School Finals Rodeo in Gillette, Wyo. the week after the IFYR. Davis is the reserve goat tying champion from North Carolina, she said.
Renee Underwood, who heads up the IFYR camping committee which consists of 106 people, said Friday everything seems to be going smoothly so far.
Jackson said 906 back numbers have been issued, indicating there will be about 30 more contestants competing in this year’s IFYR than a year ago. Expo personnel have set up 1,032 stalls and RV reservations on grounds total 514. He said the overflow will be going to the Citizen Potawatomi Nation RV park south of Shawnee.
Some vendors already were setting up in the conference center Friday in anticipation of the opening of the trade show at noon on Sunday. The hours for the show are noon-8 p.m. Sunday and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday. Because the final performance is next Saturday at 10 a.m., the show will close Friday night.
