Rodeo Town

Cowboys, cowgirls to converge on Franklin for this weekend’s rodeo

 

More than 350 cowboys and cowgirls will converge on Franklin this week for the 69th annual Franklin Rodeo

They hail from 24 states, one Canadian province, and Brazil, all with the goal of winning first place and the Franklin Rodeo buckle.

Team roper Keven Daniel attended the Franklin Rodeo as a kid. Growing up five miles east of the arena, he began team roping in the seventh grade.

Daniel rodeoed full time for several years, living in Texas and qualifying for the pinnacle of the sport: the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR), four times (2007, 2009-2010, 2012). He and his wife Kristen, who married in 2011, moved back to Tennessee a few years ago.

His first year to rope in Franklin was in 1998, and he’s competed there about ten times.

Daniel has never won the rodeo but has finished second a couple of times.

Other notable contestants entered to compete in Franklin include team ropers Chad Masters (Cedar Hill, Tenn.; 2007 world champion) and Tom Bourne, Culleoka, Tenn. (WNFR qualifier), tie-down ropers Shane Hanchey (Sulphur, La.; 2013 world champion) and Fred Whitfield (Hockley, Texas; eight-time world champion), bareback rider Tim O’Connell (Zwingle, Iowa; 2016-2017 world champion), and Junior Nogueira, (Presidente Prudente, Brazil; 2017 all-around world champion).

The rodeo runs May 17 – 19 with performances at 7 p.m. each night and is held at the Williamson Co. Ag. Expo Park. Slack, the extra competition, will be held on May 19 at 9 a.m.

Tickets are available and can be purchased online at www.FranklinRodeo.com or at the gate. They are $20 for adults and $10 for children age 12 and under. All seats are reserved.

For more information, visit the website or call 615-RODEO-11.

 

A saddle bronc rider competes at the 2017 Franklin Rodeo. This year’s rodeo includes more than 350 contestants and is held May 17-19. Photo by Tom Thomson.