Rodeo season isn’t over in Mississippi’s capital city.
While the Dixie National Rodeo wrapped up in Jackson on Sunday, cowboys and cowgirls will once again gear up to come to the Magnolia State when the second edition of the Killebrew International Pro Rodeo kicks off in the summer.
What initially began as a memorial for the late Keath Killebrew who died in a plane crash in 2021 has now gained international status with contestants from across the globe setting their eyes on Jackson to showcase their extraordinary talents.
From June 6-8, more than 600 contestants are expected to take their talents to the Mississippi Coliseum and compete for more than $70,000 in prize money in six rodeo events. The competition will feature rodeo favorites like bull riding, bareback bronc, saddle bronc, ranch broncs, calf roping, breakaway roping, steer wrestling, team roping, and barrel racing.
Additional amenities at the event will include rodeo vendors selling clothing, jewelry, and rodeo merchandise, activities for kids, and meet-and-greet opportunities with clowns, bullfighters, and special entertainers.
In addition to rodeo performances on Friday and Saturday night, tickets will also be on sale for the Bull Riding Slack on Thursday evening, with more than 50 bull riders attempting to achieve an eight-second ride to earn a spot in the finals on Friday and Saturday night.
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“For us, hosting this event is so much bigger than simply bringing a world-class rodeo to Mississippi,” Alyssa Killebrew, the event’s founder and Keath’s widow, said. “It is our passionate mission to train, support, and empower the next generation of farmers and ranchers, and money raised at the Killebrew International Pro Rodeo will help us do just that!”
The Killebrew International Pro Rodeo is being produced by Jeremy Smith of Deep South Rodeo Productions and is sanctioned by the International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA), which recognized last year’s event as the “Best Indoor Rodeo of the Year.”
IPRA is the second largest professional rodeo association, sanctioning nearly 300 rodeos in the U.S. and Canada. The association has a membership base of over 2,400 members with the Killebrew Rodeo being one of the newest sanctioned rodeos, winning top awards at the most recent IPRA finals in Guthrie, Oklahoma.
The mission of the Killebrew Ag Foundation is to educate and train a new generation of Mississippi farmers through scholarships and land-based learning as the Killebrew family and friends are deeply rooted in agriculture.
Tickets are available for purchase through Ticketmaster and at the coliseum’s box office. More information about the Killebrew Pro International Rodeo can be found here.
