Associations
Join Rodeo News
Tri State Rodeo Association (TSRA)
Phone: 601-857-5550
Mailing Address: TRI-STATE RODEO ASSOCIATION
1749 Bill Downing Rd.
RAYMOND, MS 39154
Email: jane.cooper@basf.com
Visit Our Website
Members

Meet the Member Brad Bates
January 20, 2017
story by Lily Weinacht Brad Bates started riding bucking horses on a bet with his roping partner. In high school at the time, the pair of team ropers bet each other who could stay on the longest. Both rode their first horses, and today, Brad is a three-time TSRA saddle bronc riding champion and he’s qualified multiple times for the PRCA Southeastern Circuit Finals. “When I was younger, I was dead-set on making the NFR,…
Read More
Meet the Members Trent and Wendy McFarland
December 21, 2016
story by Lily Weinacht As a child, Trent McFarland was sternly informed by a teacher that acting like a clown would get him nowhere in life. Yet with more than 100 performances and 40,000 miles driven this year alone, the rodeo clown and barrel man from Hope Hull, Alabama, and his wife, Wendy, have happily proven the reverse. Active in the PRCA, APRA, SRA, Tri-State Rodeo Association, and SPRA, they haul one of the largest…
Read More
Meet the Member, TSRA Finals Photographer Jennifer Calhoun
November 21, 2016
story by Siri Stevens Jennifer Calhoun was raised Brookhaven, Mississippi. Her dad rode horses, but she was more interested in crunching numbers than saddling horses. Armed with a college degree in accounting, Jennifer spent ten years working in that field until she moved back to her hometown and couldn’t find a job. “I opened a photography studio. I bought a digital camera, and that put me in the sports,” said the 50-year-old mother of one…
Read More
Rodeo Spotlight Tri-State Finals
October 7, 2016
story by Siri Stevens The Tri State Finals will be celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, and for the first time in almost 40 years, they are having the finals at the Washington Parish Fair, the Worlds Largest free fair. “It’s the biggest free fair in the world,” said Robbie Thomas of the event that always starts the third Wednesday in October. “We play host to 450,000 people in four days. And we only have…
Read More
Meet the Member Destyn Ladner
June 3, 2016
story by Lindsay Welchel Growing up in rodeo was a natural choice for Destyn Ladner, 20. As a child, the little cowgirl followed her two older brothers into arena competition, and she’s been involved in just about all she can ever since. Destyn competed in junior high and high school rodeo in everything from cutting, to barrel racing, goat tying, breakaway roping and more. She has won All-Around titles and was state champion breakaway roper…
Read More
Meet the Member Kayla Keith
May 20, 2016
story by Lindsay Welchel Kayla Keith, 23, didn’t come from a rodeo family, but she had horses in her blood and got on the back of one as fast as she could. Kayla’s great-grandfather raised racehorses, no doubt passing on his love of fast equine athletes through Kayla’s DNA. Kayla’s parents Earl and Donna got Kayla her first horse at the age of 6, and her mom put her in lessons with the daughter of…
Read More
Meet the Member: Karley Keyes
May 6, 2016
story by Lindsay Welchel We all know about the hard work and dedication involved in the sport of rodeo. How focus and speed and practice come together with miles of road and long nights, to sometimes result in a win and sometimes not. Tri State Rodeo Association barrel racer Karley Keyes knows all of this too, but she hasn’t forgotten maybe the most important thing to remember; rodeo is supposed to be fun. “I’ve always…
Read More
Meet the Member: Owen Lott
April 15, 2016
story by Lindsay Welchel Owen Lott grew up in the Tri-State Rodeo Association. His dad was a rodeo producer who put on TSRA events when Owen was a kid. “I’ve just always been around horses and roped from an early age,” Owen explains. Calf roping and team roping were the events that he stuck with, though Owen did steer wrestle some in high school. The sport of rodeo has taken Owen from high school rodeo…
Read More
Meet the Member Angelle Mitchell
March 18, 2016
story by Lindsay Whelchel Angelle Mitchell’s horse experience is about as far ranging as it can get. She grew up doing 4-H and All Around horse shows from halter classes to pleasure, English jumping and eventually timed events as she got older. And she did it all on one horse to start out with. Finally she moved into three-day eventing. “That wasn’t adventurous enough, so I changed to rodeo,” she laughs. Angelle likes things pitted…
Read More
Meet the Member Kelcie May
February 19, 2016
story by Lindsay Whelchel For 17-year-old Tri State Rodeo Association barrel racer, Kelcie May, being involved in the sport has not only become a fixture in her life, it’s had an impact on every aspect. “It’s what I always wanted to do ever since I was little. I started when I was probably 10 or 12,” she explains and adds that she doesn’t really come from a barrel racing family. Her cousins roped, and her…
Read More
Meet the Member Trey Sutherland
January 22, 2016
story by Lindsay Whelchel For Trey Sutherland, rodeo is about paying it forward. “I’ve always been fortunate. I’ve been around guys in the past, Frank Graves mainly, that brought me along and showed me the ropes, and I’ve always tried to give back. I’ve brought a lot of young guys around, and that’s what keeps it going, your attitude and keeping the next generation coming,” Trey says. He’s also giving back through his role as…
Read More
Meet the Member Wade Womack
November 2, 2015
story by Lindsay Whelchel For Wade Womack, 23, rodeo is not just about the good time and the challenge, even though he likes a challenge, and to him, riding bulls is certainly a good time and adrenaline rush. Rodeo is about helping to live his faith and spend quality time with his 4-year-old daughter Karsyn. “I think it’s got a lot to offer,” he says of the sport and adds, “Number one, keep God first,…
Read More