Los Fresnos Rodeo is under way
LOS FRESNOS — Richard Loter used his red trash scoop to fill 40 buckets with standing water from his pony pen.
The Los Fresnos Rodeo and the Cameron County Fair and Livestock Show began muddy Friday after several days of rain.
"If you can’t handle the rain, then you’re in the wrong business," said Loter, a Fort Worth native who runs a pony walk at fairs and rodeos across the state. "If you can’t handle it, then you should set up at a mall."
Despite the conditions, it will be business as usual for Loter. He will be selling pony rides all day today and Sunday for $5, he said.
Officials all across the fair grounds shared that business-as-usual sentiment on Friday.
And the weather started to cooperate later in the day. As the morning turned into the afternoon the sun began to intensify, leading rodeo officials to expect dry conditions for the festivities.
Rodeo and livestock show visitors can expect temperatures in the 70s during the day today, according to the National Weather Service Web site.
That combined with the effort by workers to soak up puddles in the parking area, in the rodeo arena and around the carnival rides could lead to drier conditions.
"We have had crews pumping water out of all the low areas," Dwight Chaffin, the rodeo’s secretary and the Los Fresnos mayor pro-tem, said.
"We have a drainage system set up in the arena so everything should be all good for the cowboys tonight and tomorrow," Chaffin said Friday afternoon as he pointed at a filled drainage ditch outside the arena.
Power cords to the carnival rides were underwater, as most of those attractions were set in lower ground. But an employee with Hearts of America Shows said they should be operational for the entire weekend.
Hearts of America workers had a sump pump working to clean up the water, employee Albert Castro said.
Rain or shine, Chaffin expected large crowds throughout the three-day event.
"We usually sell out pretty early on Saturday," Chaffin said.
The best chance to buy rodeo tickets for today is before 5 p.m. when the ticket gate opens, Chaffin said. Rodeo patrons can buy tickets today for Sunday’s event for $12, while same-day tickets are $15.
Advance tickets are also available at Julia’s Restaurant in Los Fresnos, Chaffin said.
