Horses and wagons may be a common sight along the roads this weekend as the Dixie National North Ride starts off toward Jackson to attend the Dixie National Rodeo.
Bridgette Stamper Brown, who helps organize the ride with her husband, Aaron, said the annual horse and wagon train is a huge procession, consisting of several hundred riders, and a great way to share the excitement of the rodeo.
“We’re expecting about 300 to 400 riders and 30 to 35 wagons,” she said. “It’s just a great, fun time.”
Brown has been participating in the annual ride since she was a child. That isn’t unusual, she said. Many of the riders can trace their participation back three or four generations. In fact, Brown met her husband on the wagon train. Both families had been involved since the beginning and had passed the tradition on.
“We had been on the same ride for years, but we’d never met each other,” she said, adding there are so many riders it’s hard to know everyone.
Her father, Brown said, was one of the original riders of the 1981 wagon train, which was started to raise interest in the rodeo.
“The agricultural commissioner was trying to get support for the rodeo,” she said. “He invited a group to have a trail ride into Jackson.”
From there, Brown said, interest in the ride exploded. Now, she said, there are eight different wagon trains leaving from various parts of the state.
“And one from Louisiana, I think,” she said. “All of them are one week, except for the coast ride, which is two weeks.”
Each year, thousands of riders come together and head to the capitol, some of whom will compete in the Dixie National Rodeo Feb. 8
The Dixie National North Ride leaves from Neshoba County Fairgrounds and will pass through Sebastopol on Feb. 3, Brown said. The day before, a practice ride will travel a short distance around the fairgrounds to make sure there are no technical difficulties on the week-long journey.
“On Saturday night, we’ll have a band and a supper to kick us off,” she said.
Although the wagon train may start with 400 riders, Brown said the week-long journey, camping out every night and riding every day, isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time. When the caravan arrives in Jackson Feb. 8, she said there may be 200 riders and 10-15 wagons remaining.
For some people it can be hard to take a week off work, school or other obligation, she said. The point is to come out and have fun for as long as they can.
“We lose some along the way, but some will make it the whole way,” she said.
Those who complete the journey will receive a police escort into the capitol, where they will rest, water the horses and prepare for the weekend. On Saturday, Brown said, every rider and Wagoneer from each of the eight rides will participate in the Dixie National Parade, a massive procession that marks the beginning of the rodeo.
Sunday, some will participate in the rodeo, others will watch and all will have a good time.
For those interested in the ride, Brown said to call 662-983-5770 for more information, or head on up to the fairgrounds this weekend to say hi, meet the riders and join them in celebrating the Dixie National Rodeo.
