Wickett junior rodeo joins Diamond Daze, expected to be ‘biggest so far’
J.P. Wickett expects the third year to be the charm for the John Perry Wickett Memorial Junior Rodeo, the first year the two-day event is held in conjunction with Diamond Daze and what may be “the biggest one so far.”
J.P. Wickett expects the third year to be the charm for the John Perry Wickett Memorial Junior Rodeo, the first year the two-day event is held in conjunction with Diamond Daze and what may be “the biggest one so far.”
“We’re very excited about that,” Wickett says of the third annual rodeo named after his father. “Bring people to town, help with Diamond Daze, just try to help the town out. It will also help my junior rodeo out — kind of run hand in hand.”
While the partnership with the annual Diamond Daze festival only adds to a weekend packed with activities, Wickett admits a major aspect for this year’s rodeo starts with a dollar sign and in- cludes three zeroes.
“In each age group, each all-around boy and all-around girl’s gonna win a $1,000 bonus, which for a junior rodeo is pretty big. And they’ll win buckles. They give buckles at a lot of junior rodeos, but not the $1,000 bonuses. So we’re really excited about that,” Wickett says.
“I expect it to be the biggest one so far because of the bonuses. That’s got a lot of people talking, because they just don’t do that — very, very, very few places. Maybe one or two throughout the year.”
There will be $8,000 in bonuses handed out for both boys and girls in four different age groups.
“There’ll be a lot of kids here,” Wickett says in anticipation. “The first year we had 724 entries. Last year it was in the high 6s — rain got me a little bit last year.
“But a lot of parents are talking about coming here. We’re hoping that we can get them into town. Maybe if they’ll just come into town and eat or just mill around. I’ve told them all about Diamond Daze; we’ve advertised that part. Hopefully it’ll be a good fit for the town and also a good fit for us. So we’re really excited about that. It’s neat to do something in your hometown, especially for the kids,” he says.
Wickett says the rodeo, sanctioned by the Oklahoma Junior Rodeo Association (OJRA), attracts contestants from Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and “every once in a while you’ll have a North Texas kid.”
The Sallisaw rodeo is the last rodeo of the season before the OJRA Finals, which are June 7-9 in Mounds. The 2024 OJRA circuit also included stops in Drumright, Owasso, Pawhuska, Pryor, Stigler, Vinita and Warner.
The first two years of the John Perry Wickett Memorial Junior Rodeo were held in early April, but moving it to the same weekend as Diamond Daze — the first weekend of May — was attractive to everyone concerned.
“My dad, he had a western store here in town for years,” Wickett explains. “My dad was a big proponent of rodeo, he loved the roping events. It could be 10 degrees or 110 degrees, and he’d sit there and watch every run — analyze them and talk about them. He absolutely loved rodeo. He never rode rough stock, but he still was a fan of it. He started me when I was real young. I’m done, I’m not rodeoing anymore, not gonna rodeo. It’s just time to pass it on to my kids.”
Rodeo events begin at 10 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday, May 4-5. Cowboy Church will also be offered on Sunday morning.
Saturday events are flags, barrels, poles, goat undecorating, goat tying, breakaway, ribbon roping, tie down roping, heading and heeling. Sunday’s lineup includes breakaway, ribbon roping, tie down roping, heading, heeling, goat undecorating, goat tying, flags, barrels and poles.
Sponsors for the rodeo, which makes the $1,000 bonuses possible, include Sallisaw Chamber of Commerce, Sallisaw Main Street, Sallisaw Lions Club, Shelter Insurance – Randall Baker Agency, Armstrong Bank, Moore Feeds, True Family Rentals, Dr. Gary White (Sallisaw Equine Clinic) and Sparks Corner Store.
