Rodeo a big part of what makes Lea County festival great

By Ted Harbin
Posted Monday, August 2, 2010

LOVINGTON, N.M. – There are a lot of great things happening in town from July 31-Aug. 7.
Greg Massey likes it that way. Heck, he even contributes. As a member of the Lea County fair
board, he gets to be part of the largest event in the county every year, one of the largest county fairs in
New Mexico.
He’s also chairman of the committee that helps plan and produce the rodeo piece of the puzzle
that makes up the Lea County Fair and Rodeo, set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 4-Saturday, Aug. 7.
“The great thing is that it’s a one-ticket admission price,” Massey said. “You can go to the fair
and the rodeo for $5, and along with that admission, we have a hypnotist and a magician, and they both
do two acts a day. We have concerts each night of the rodeo.”
The music consists of Aaron Tippin on Wednesday, Decyfer Down playing Thursday’s youth
night, Rodney Atkins on Friday and Robert Earl Keene on Saturday. But the biggest action will likely
happen in that couple of hours during the rodeo, when elite cowboys will compete for hundreds of
thousands of dollars that are all part of an exciting four days of ProRodeo.
“It’s really a great community with an outstanding board of directors and a ton of committee
volunteers,” said Pete Carr, owner of Carr Pro Rodeo, the livestock producer for the rodeo. “We
appreciate the opportunity to be part their team and together we are trying to improve the event every
year. You’ll see the best of the best in Lovington.”
That includes Carr and his crew, which has been part of the Lea County Fair and Rodeo four
years. Carr provides award-winning bucking livestock, a flair for the dramatic and a staff that features
some of the best in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
“Pete just brings us a first-class rodeo,” Massey said. “He has National Finals Rodeo-quality
bucking stock, and he brings a lot of professionalism to our rodeo. Pete always delivers a lot more than
he promises. He has a genuine interest in the rodeo, wanting to make it the best it can be. I appreciate
A lot of people in Lovington have come to expect high quality in its rodeo.
“There are a lot of ranch people around there, so they know a lot about the rodeo,” said Paul
Peterson, one of the pickup men in Lovington who has worked the Wrangler NFR three times. “It’s
always been a pretty good rodeo, but the committee has stepped up and added a lot of money. That’s
been a good drawing factor.”
Rodeo cowboys receive no guarantees, and they must pay a fee in order to compete. Not only
does money pay their bills, its also how championship points are determined. The Lovington rodeo helps
two fold in that category – not only is there a nice purse available, but the event is part of the PRCA’s
Wrangler Million Dollar Silver Tour, a series that includes a playoff format that enables the top
contestants a shot at serious money.
“Being on tour helps fill our rodeo with national champions,” Massey said. “It brings the best of
the best. The contestants want to follow the tour rodeos, because the money they earn in a tour rodeo
leads them to the first playoff stop in Puyallup (Wash.). That’s big for them.”
While the tour is attractive to the cowboys and cowgirls in the field of more than 600 contestants,
there is a lot being offered to folks coming to town for all there is to offer at the Lea County Fair and
“We have a lot to offer anyone who comes here,” Massey said. “The area’s growing, so we have
first-class accommodations, and most of them are less than 5 years old. We have racetrack casino, and
while they’re not racing this time of year, the casino is open.
“At the rodeo, we usually have a standing-room-only crowd on Saturday night.”
It’s all a nice benefit to the community, the fair board and the rodeo committee.
“A few years ago, the attendance was down, entries were down,” he said. “Since we changed the
format with our rodeo and got Pete in with us, we’ve maxed out on all of our entries and our attendance
“Pete works with us to make our rodeo better. Some contractors think we work for them, but Pete
comes in and asks us what he can do for us. He’ll do what we tell him to do or he’ll offer suggestions.
Over the last few years, we’ve turned our rodeo around since Pete’s been here.”