[July 25, 2011] High temperatures mean small crowds for Pro Rodeo Tweet Jul 24, 2011 (The Sentinel - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The second Hayman Pro Rodeo was held Saturday, but extreme weather may have ruined chances for a third rodeo next year. The event, hosted by Hayman Farms, has been plagued by Central Pennsylvania's worst weather of 2011, resulting in a much lower turnout than Hayman Farms owners Tracy and Barb Gleim would have liked. Extreme weather When severe storms and a tornado pummelled Cumberland County May 26, Hayman Farms and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association attempted to have the rodeo on its original May 27 date, but a second day of storms and hail forced them to reschedule. "We opened up the rodeo, and we bucked two bulls," Tracy said. "It was too wet." If not for another round of extreme weather, this time in the form of a deadly heat wave gripping the eastern parts of the U.S. and Canada, everything might have worked out. The rodeo actually had more contestants for Saturday than the original date, but filling seats with spectators in temperatures reaching the upper 90s proved to be challenging. In 2010, roughly 1,300 people attended the first rodeo. Saturday's attendance paled in comparison, totaling roughly 300. "First we were rained out, now we're baked out," Tracy said. Last rodeo? The Gleims had hoped to make the rodeo an annual event, but that may not happen after Saturday's poor turnout. "We got to set down and, you know, analyze the numbers," Tracy said. "We love doing the rodeo, it just, I don't know if it's going to pan out. I don't know if the numbers are going to work." "It has been very tough," Barb said. "I think we're going to go back to the drawing board and see if we can afford another one. "Right now it's up in the air, it really is. I mean we've definitely had a loss on this rodeo." Riding it out Despite the heat, everyone at the rodeo seemed excited to be there, and the Gleims greeted spectators with a smile, even thanking some of them for coming out in the heat. "It's not as good as I had expected it to be, but I'm at least happy it's happening," Barb said. "I love the rodeo." Apparently kids love the rodeo too, because that's why many spectators, armed with umbrellas and coolers filled with cold drinks, braved the heat Saturday. "My grandkids never saw one (a rodeo), a live one," said Petra Smith of Newville, explaining her and her husband Steve's reason for sitting in the scorching heat with three of their four grandchildren. "We love it, and he wanted to come," said Sue Berry of Carlisle, motioning to her 3-year-old grandson Landon Berry. The pair took shelter under a small Spider-man umbrella, with a wet cloth draped around Landon's neck as he watched his favorite thing at the rodeo, the rodeo clowns. "Their mouth is like really funny," he said. "We know this is probably going to be the last one here, so we didn't want to miss it," the boy's grandmother said. "It's a nice rodeo." To see more of The Sentinel, go to http://www.cumberlink.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Sentinel, Carlisle, Pa. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]