<body><div>The Island News<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4OypSQ_1H4ms9Bc00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4OypSQ_1H4ms9Bc00" width="2048" height="1365" ><figcaption>A bronc rider competes during the St. Helena Low Country Rodeo on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, on St. Helena Island. Produced by the Southern Rodeo Company, the two-day event featured bull riding, barrel racing and other events. Tony Kukulich/The Island News</figcaption></figure>In 2013, country music icon Rodney Crowell recorded “Bull Rider,” an homage to the perennial favorites of rodeo fans. In it, Crowell mused about what it takes to sit atop 1,000 pounds of angry beef. First you’ve gotta wanna get offBad enough to wanna get on him in the first placeAnd you’d better trust in your Lady LuckPray to God she don’t give up on you right nowCrowell, with an enviable knack for taking a listener inside whatever scene he’s describing, could hardly have painted a more accurate picture. Preparing to ride for the first time since suffering a broken leg, Ridgeland-based bull rider Lonnie Hayward had his own view of the rodeo. “This whole scene is a lot different than anything else,” he said. On Saturday, Nov. 7, a capacity crowd filled the bleachers for the second night of the St. Helena Low Country Pro Rodeo to see everything a pro rodeo had to offer – the bull riders, bronc riders, calf ropers, barrel racers, all of it. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2RN84f_1H4ms9Bc00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2RN84f_1H4ms9Bc00" width="2048" height="1365" ><figcaption>Spectators enjoy a trick riding show Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, during the inaugural St. Helena Low Country Pro Rodeo at Dempsey Farms on St. Helena Island. Amber Hewitt/The Island News</figcaption></figure>Just outside the bucking chuteYou lose a spur, you lose your seatAnd you lose yourselfHosted by Dempsey Farms and produced by the Southern Rodeo Company, it was the first time the rodeo visited the area. According to the rodeo company’s co-owner, Robin Brooks, the Dempsey family discovered his company on social media. This past winter, they reached out with the idea of hosting a rodeo on their farm. “They wanted us to come put a rodeo on. My son came over here and looked at the site and here we are,” Brooks said. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0zlkKI_1H4ms9Bc00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0zlkKI_1H4ms9Bc00" width="699" height="1049" ><figcaption>A bronc rider hangs on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, during the inaugural St. Helena Low Country Pro Rodeo at Dempsey Farms on St. Helena Island. Amber Hewitt/The Island News</figcaption></figure>To support a rodeo of the planned scale, the site needed to be a flat piece of ground between 14 and 20 acres in size. More importantly, it needed to be in a supportive community. Dempsey Farms checked all the boxes. According to Brooks, both nights of the two-day event sold out a week before opening night. “I’ve rodeoed for 50 years and owned the company for 20. I’ve never seen a first-time event sell out,” Brooks told The Island News. Seated in the stands with her 6-month-old grandson, Marti Calder said she would have purchased more tickets had they been available. Keeping a limit on the number of attendees was a way to ensure that everyone had a good seat, Brooks said. He didn’t want to risk anyone having a bad seat or a bad time. “We get to do what we love every day. We want people to enjoy what we do as much as we do,” Brooks said. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4EnHeN_1H4ms9Bc00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4EnHeN_1H4ms9Bc00" width="1467" height="980" ><figcaption>A young buckaroo tries on a cowboy hat Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, during the inaugural St. Helena Low Country Pro Rodeo at Dempsey Farms on St. Helena Island. Amber Hewitt/The Island News</figcaption></figure>Rodeo secretary Jennifer Reyolds said that some 85 contestants signed up and paid their fee to compete in the weekend’s events. Some traveled hundreds of miles, committing time and money to pit their skills against other contestants in events that only lasted a few seconds at best. A loose grip or a poorly timed rope throw could end their chances for prize money in the blink of an eye. One handhold is all you gotIt’s you and the bull against the clockReynolds was unsurprised by the sellout crowd. The reason, she said, was simple. “People love to see bucking horses. People love to see bucking bulls,” Reynolds said. You can reach Tony Kukulich at tony.theislandnews@gmail.com or at 854-257-8125.</div></body>

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In 2013, country music icon Rodney Crowell recorded “Bull Rider,” an homage to the perennial favorites of rodeo fans. In it, Crowell mused about what it takes to sit atop 1,000 pounds of angry beef. First you’ve gotta wanna get off. Bad enough to wanna get on...

Pro rodeo rolls onto St. Helena Island

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In 2013, country music icon Rodney Crowell recorded “Bull Rider,” an homage to the perennial favorites of rodeo fans. In it, Crowell mused about what it ta

Pro rodeo rolls onto St. Helena Island

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