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World-class rodeo brings international visitors; organizers seek higher prize money and infrastructure support
Summary
Ellie Trappler, rodeo organizer, told the board the event brought attendees from multiple countries and U.S. states, credited recent internet upgrades at the fairgrounds for enabling vendor sales, and said organizers face pressure to raise prize money to remain competitive with larger, better-funded events.
Ellie Trappler, who organizes Madison's annual rodeo, told the Jefferson County Tourism Board the event drew attendees from across the U.S. and abroad and that organizers are pursuing more sponsorship to increase prize payouts.
"I am the only female rodeo in the world," Trappler said as she described national attention for the event and a push to bring more national sponsors. She reported that attendees came from five countries and many U.S. states; MadTix data she cited showed guests from California, Washington and several Canadian provinces, plus strong regional attendance from Louisville and nearby Kentucky counties.
Trappler credited a recent internet upgrade at the fairgrounds with solving critical vendor-payment issues. She said county and fairgrounds support for connectivity "saved my life" during ticketing and vendor operations.
Organizers also asked the board to consider the challenge of rising production costs. Trappler said the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) wants the event to increase its per-event prize purse from about $15,000 toward $20,000 to remain competitive; she said the rodeo sells out and that ticket price tiers have ranged from about $2530 in advance to about $40 at the gate.
Trappler described national broadcast interest on cowboy-channel outlets and said the event was again seeking PRCA sanctioning and larger sponsor support. She concluded by thanking the board for the fairgrounds' internet and for prior marketing support, and said organizers will apply again to the tourism grant cycle.
