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Little Wranglers press county to fix arena safety and ease rental rules for rodeos
Summary
Members of the Little Wranglers Rodeo Association urged Roosevelt County commissioners to address safety problems at the fairgrounds arena — including crowded warm-up areas, hazardous exit gates and stall-management logistics — and asked the county to consider discounted rent or operational support; commissioners directed staff to add the matter to a May 30 special meeting on budget and use of the facility.
Payton Terry and Jared Eshman of the Little Wranglers Rodeo Association told the Roosevelt County Commission the group needs help making the county’s arena safer and more affordable for youth rodeos.
Terry, the association’s vice president, said the association pays rental fees yet lacks a safe warm-up area for hundreds of participating children and horses. ‘‘There is nowhere out there to warm horses up,’’ Terry said, describing a narrow inside lane where children and horses crowd one another.
Jared Eshman, the group’s president, described repeated incidents at the south exit gate for speed events where horses run into double gates, injuring animals and riders. He proposed removing a round pen and importing a few loads of dirt to form a dedicated warm-up lane and a gated entry that would separate speed-event horses from onlookers.
Cam Knight, a Little Wranglers member, echoed safety concerns about arena footing and recommended mixing sand with clay after maintenance grading; he also outlined options for stall management, including the association taking responsibility for stall rentals and remitting revenue to the county or sharing proceeds if the county prefers to retain control of collections.
Commissioners and staff discussed several constraints. County legal counsel and staff emphasized that the county cannot donate equipment or facilities to nonprofits under the county’s anti-donation rules and that county insurance and procurement policies favor county employees operating heavy equipment such as tractors. "We cannot make donations, loans, things of that nature to individuals or to nonprofits," a county attorney said during the discussion.
Commissioners agreed the fairgrounds should be used more and voiced support for solutions that do not imperil the county’s legal or budgetary obligations. They asked staff to put a formal agenda item on the special budget and use meeting already scheduled for May 30 so the commission can adopt a clear policy for arena rentals, stall access and staffing for equipment and consider possible rate changes or co-management arrangements.
The commission did not make a final decision at the meeting; instead, members requested additional information on rental rates, stall fees and logistical options to present at the May 30 special meeting on the budget and fairgrounds use.
