Preserving a legend

COLFAX – Adrenaline rushing through his veins, one hand firmly gripped around the rope, 19-year-old Ty Carlson bull ride at the County Fair Roundup Rodeo last June lasted around four seconds.

Despite not qualifying for the finals, his parents said that moment meant the world to Ty — he got to compete in a rodeo in his hometown.

"He was nervous going into it because this is the event that he had been wanting his whole life – a hometown rodeo," Ty's father, Todd Carlson said. "He knew he wanted to go out and put his skills together, but he tried too hard ... he was happy that he competed."

Come June 23, cowboys, cowgirls and their hoofed companions will ride over to the Jasper County Fairgrounds in remembrance of the young bull rider from Colfax. According to Ty's parents, it was always one of their son's dreams to turn his hometown into a rodeo destination.

"Ty has always wanted the rodeo to stay, be good and be a successful event here," Ty's mother, Kari Carlson said. "It just seemed right to put it together."

Hours after winning the Maxwell Old Settlers Rodeo bull riding competition in August 2017, Ty Carlson was killed in a single-vehicle accident. The community quickly rallied together to host a tribute bull riding contest at the fairgrounds just one month later.

The list of participants quickly filled up, droves of sponsors stepped up, donations began piling in and that evening, the stands were overfilled with people. After witnessing an immense amount of support from the community, Carlson's parents and others in the rodeo community wanted to continue the young bull rider's dream by turning his memorial ride into an annual event.

After a few conversations with the Jasper County Fair Planning Committee in March, the Ty Carlson's Memorial Bull Riding event will now help kick-off the Jasper County Fair as part of the fair's annual Roundup Rodeo.

J"Our contractor, (Duckworth Rodeo Company of Knoxville) had been in favor of this even since last year." Jasper County Fair Round Up Committee member Alan Guy said. "He made the comment that he really wanted the memorial part of ours ... by putting the two together has really created an entity that will be a lot more long-standing."

Now in the kick-off event's fourth year – the third straight with the rodeo — this year's roundup will run similar to how it has in the past.

Starting at 4 p.m., the annual Barnyard Baby Contest will launch the roundup activities at the 4-H building. Boys and girls between the ages of 6 months old to 5 years old will strut their stuff that afternoon dressed in their cutest outfits in accordance with themes including, lifeguard, barnyard and cowboys. First-place winners will have the opportunity to participate in the county parade in July.

Barnyard Babies will be followed by the Jasper County Fair Queen and Princess Pageant, where the fair royalty will be crowned and coordinated prior to the rodeo.

The festivities will then move to the rodeo grounds at 7 p.m., where the evening activities will get a little more intense with a variety of rough stock events, including saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, barrel racing and, Ty's favorite, bull riding.

According to Guy, 25 participants are expected to participate in the roundup rodeo events. The Carlson family said several of their son's close friends are signed for the second memorial ride.

"They were such a close-knit group. It wasn't just these four kids or five kids," Todd said. "These are people he grew up rodeoing with."

In keeping with events from last year's memorial ride, there will be a riderless horse ceremony, the Cowboy's Prayer and other tributes to the late bull rider. In addition, the ride will fund a scholarship in Ty's name.

"We want to make it much about Ty as much as we can," Guy said. "Ty is always going to be remembered in Colfax, but this helps really establish it for kids to come and family to come, whether it be implants or new families in Colfax. It is nice to know that it will continue to affect (the town) that much farther down the line."

There will also be a variety of family-fun activities that evening. Bounce houses, pony rides, food and a variety of vendors will be on-hand at the fairgrounds starting at 5 p.m.

Rodeo clown, Jason "Whistlenut" Dent, who was a contestant on the CBS reality television show “Big Brother,” and his team of bulls will be on-hand to provide entertainment throughout the rodeo festivities. Local country musician Royce Johns will cap off the event with a live concert.

New to this year, the rodeo will feature a little Mutton Bustin’ – an event that helped Ty fall in love with the extreme sport.

"That is how Ty started (bull riding)," Kari said. "He impacted a lot of people in this town. To able to keep it here, it just means a lot."

Tickets for the family rodeo festivities cost $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 6 to 12 years old. Admission is free for kids 5 years old and younger.

Whether you are a lover of the rodeo or impacted by Ty, rodeo organizers said by supporting roundup festivities, it will help preserve the Colfax native's dream for years to come and keep the rodeo here in his hometown.

"Let's see how big we can make it. Let's make it a calendar event for people in Iowa," Todd said. "It impacts everything, not just the cash register at the door. It is so much bigger than that."

For more information, visit jascofair.com, email jcfrounduprodeo@gmail.com or find Jasper County Fair Round Up & Rodeo on Facebook.

Contact Anthony Victor Reyes at areyes@jaspercountytribune.com