Pro steer wrestler and team roper, and former St. Cloud resident Juan Alcazar, starred at the 155th Silver Spurs Rodeo, taking the All-Around Cowboy title. (Photo/Katie Williams)
A salute to veterans, local cowboys and cowgirls, a pair of local charities — and to patriots and heroes.
Those were the theme of the 155th Silver Spurs Rodeo, which played to what rodeo officials said was a sellout crowd of 7,500 both Friday and Saturday night at the Silver Spurs Arena.
In short, the “Biggest Rodeo East of the Mississippi (River)” lived up to its billing.
Nearly $25,000 in prize money went to the pro rodeo athletes — the human athletes taking on the “animal athletes”—in fields that showcased some local rodeo talent.
Okeechobee’s Juan Alcazar, who grew up in St. Cloud, was named the All-Around Cowboy after Saturday night, taking fourth in steer wrestling and second in team roping with teammate Clayton Mulligan. Kissimmee’s Most Fleming won the steer wrestling competition.
St. Cloud’s Tyler Wall took third in saddle bronc, and Della Strickland, fresh off competing in Thursday’s Little Miss Silver Spurs pageant, mounted up and competed the weekend in barrel racing, along with fellow St. Cloud competitor Kay Redman, in a competition where it took a run of 15.29 seconds to finish in the money.
And as part of its bi-annual theme, the Silver Spurs Riding Club continued its generous support of area charities. On Saturday night, the Spurs presented $10,000 check contributions to the McCormick Research Institute in St. Cloud, a provider of therapy for veterans and others with special needs through working with horses, and Help Now of Osceola, the county’s advocates for victims and survivors of domestic violence.
Here are the rodeo final standings: Steer wrestling: 1. Mose Fleming, 4.2 seconds, $893; 2. Win Mardis, 4.4, $739; 3. RC Rigdon, 5.1, $585; 4. Juan Alcazar Jr, 5.9, $431; 5. Cody Green, 6.4, $277; 6. Cross Fulford, 11.9, $154.
Team roping: 1. Cody Hensley/Coy Mueller, 6.4 seconds, $954 each; 2. Juan Alcazar Jr/Clayton Culligan, 6.7, $790 each; 3. (tie) Arky Rogers/Kyle Lawrence and Arky Rogers/Kyle Lawrence, 6.8, $625 each; 4. Josh Jumper/ Scott Martell, 7.9, $461 each; 5. Keven Daniel/Parker Carbajal, 11.0, $296 each.
Saddle bronc riding: 1. Colt Bass, 86.5 points on Silver Spurs Club’s O’ Reilly, $827; 2. Connor Brumley, 82, $620; 3. Tyler Wall, 81, $414.
Tie-down roping: 1. Zeke Norfleet, 9.1 seconds, $1,062; 2. Peydon Strayer, 9.5, $797; 3. Cross Fulford, 10.3, $531; 4. James Walsh, 12.3, $266.
Barrel racing: 1. Ryleigh Adams, 14.73 seconds, $896; 2. Kelley Carrington, 14.80, $779; 3. Kalgary Johns, 14.98, $662; 4. Angela Mack, 15.14, $545; 5. (tie) Caitlin Okolovitch and Paige Willis, 15.15, $370 each; 7. Heather Clemons, 15.21, $195; 8. Bobbie Alcazar, 15.29, $78.
Bull riding: 1. Ryan Albers, 83 points on Silver Spurs Club’s No. K12, $1,313; 2. Nick Kaczmar, 82, $1,074.
The rodeo was the “final act” in Big Boss Randy Booth’s year as the “lead gatherer” of the Silver Spurs Rodeo. Current Little Boss Kay Whaley will ascend to that spot later this summer and become the fourth Lady Boss in Spurs history, following Patsy Hefner, Jo Thacker and Sara Berlinsky.
The rodeo action returns in the fall with the annual Boots, Bulls and Barrels rodeo on Oct. 4, followed by the 156th Silver Spurs Rodeo in February 2026.
