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The Pike County Cattlemen’s Association is bringing a rodeo to town March 11 and 12 and it’s a rodeo like no other. It’s a Ranch Rodeo and it will feature an arena-load of rodeo excitement and laughter.

The Ranch Rodeo is so unlike other rodeos that many seasoned rodeo fans may not have experienced a rodeo like it.

“If you like rodeo and, even if you don’t, you’ll not want to miss the Ranch Rodeo that is coming to Cattleman Park next weekend,” Cattleman B.B. Palmer said. “All events at a Ranch Rodeo are based on activities/events that take place during the regular daily operations of a ranch.”

Palmer said the event animals are not regular rodeo stock. The animals will make their rodeo debut straight from the ranch pasture.

“The cowboys will compete in stray gathering, branding, sorting, trailer loading and wild cow milking,” he said. “Every event is exciting and fun.

Palmer said stray gathering is much like in the western movies where the ranch hands have to go out, round up the stray cows and bring them in. Then, there will be trailer loading. The cowboys will have to sort cows out and get them loaded in the trailer.

“If you’ve ever seen a rancher try to get cows in a trailer, you know what that can be like,” Palmer said, laughing.

Branding means putting the cow down on the ground and putting the brand on it.

“The cowboys will use a branding iron but it will not be hot,” Palmer said. “They’ll use powder or something sticky to ‘brand’ the cow.”

The Ranch Rodeo competitions will end with wild cow milking.

“Wild cow milking is the bull riding of a Ranch Rodeo,” Palmer said. “It’s the big one.”

The cows that will be milked are wild pasture cows that have never been milked.

“Two cowboys will hold the cow and the third will try to milk it into a Coca-Cola bottle or something similar,” Palmer said. “The cowboy with the most milk in the bottle will be the winner. A Ranch Rodeo is fun and exciting and it’s one you won’t want to miss.”

The Ranch Rodeo will begin both nights at 7 p.m. The gates will open a 5 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday for the Western Festival for kids.  Also, on Saturday, five Chuckwagons will be at Cattleman Park at noon with stews, bread and cobblers just like it was cooked on trail rides back in the Old West. Chuckwagon tickets are $10. To reserve a meal ticket, call 334-672-2787. Tickets are limited.

Ranch Rodeo tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Advance rodeo tickets and chuckwagon meal tickets ($10) are available at Don Walker’s Western Wear, Troy Bank and Trust main location, Brundidge Piggly Wiggly and Bank Buy Rite.