Madison County rodeo showcases cowboy culture, family traditions, returns to fairgrounds

MARSHALL - To many Madison County residents, the Madison County Fair rodeo is a longstanding, fun family pastime that marks the beginning of fall in the mountains.

The rodeo will return to the Madison County Fairgrounds in Marshall Sept. 29-30.

Kenny Treadway is the stock contractor and producer of Madison County Championship Rodeo.

While the Madison County Championship Rodeo holds events beginning in the spring and ending in the fall, the fair rodeo is an event in which both those competing in the rodeo and spectators alike take great pride, Treadway said.

"It's really for just Madison County. It's for the whole county, to show them how good we've been doing all summer long," Treadway said. "We're just overly excited to be able to do the fair and have it in Madison County."

For Treadway, the rodeo is a family tradition, as his grandfather, Charlie, started the July 4 rodeo with Madison County Fire Department in Madison County in 1965.

Nearly 60 years later, Treadway and his wife, Kate, have a son named after Treadway's grandfather. Charlie is 11, and the Treadway's daughter, Kenly, is 18.

The rodeo is ingrained in the DNA of many Madison County and Western North Carolina families.

Anna Candler is in third grade at Brush Creek Elementary in Marshall. Candler will be participating in barrel racing at the fair rodeo, which will mark her third year competing in the event, according to her mother, Jaime.

"As a mom, it's very rewarding watching her grow in a hobby that she loves as well as seeing how much dedication she has at such a young age," Jaime Candler said. "Every time she comes out of the arena, she has a smile on her face. That says it all."

Part of what makes Anna Candler so happy is participating in the events with her father, Nick. Both Anna Candler and Nick Candler ride the same horse, Bella, as Anna barrel races with Bella while Nick team ropes with her, according to Jaime Candler.

"It means a lot to get to ride at my hometown rodeo in front of family and friends," Anna Candler said. "Plus, I get to rodeo with my dad. I'm always excited to barrel race, and I have lots of fun riding my horse Bella."

Cassidy Metcalf, 22, also plans to barrel race at the Sept. 29-30 fair rodeo.

Metcalf said while she is partial to the July 4 rodeo, the Madison County Fair rodeo is her second favorite event in the county.

"A lot of kids come to watch the rodeo during the fair, and I'll let them pet my horse and talk to them," said Metcalf, who works at a Mars Hill produce stand.

"Barrel racing has always been a dream of mine, ever since I can remember. I love the adrenaline rush I get from walking down the alley way, just me and my horse. Everything goes silent, and just feeling my horse ready to give me his all, as I give him my all. There is a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes of barrel racing, but in the end it's all worth it."

One of the main attractions at the Madison County Rodeo is Burnsville resident Garrett Wilson, aka Cowpaty.

"I grew up always knowing that I wanted to be a rodeo clown and entertain audiences," Cowpaty said in his bio.

Cowpaty told The News-Record he performs at more than 40 rodeos a year, including in Florida to Pennsylvania, Indiana and Alabama.

Still, the Madison County Championship Rodeo has an extra special place in Cowpaty's heart.

"I travel everywhere all throughout the year to rodeos, but the Madison County Championship Rodeo is my home," Cowpaty said. "I do all these rodeos throughout the year in 10 other states, but there's no better feeling than getting to return to Marshall and perform at that rodeo. It's my home arena."

Cowpaty began his rodeo clown career in 2010 at 11 years old. In 2022, he was recognized as the National Cowboys Association Clown of the Year.

Levi Robinson has been riding bulls and horses for his entire adult life.

"The day I graduated high school was the same day I got on my first bull," Robinson said.

In the years since, Robinson, 25, has earned three championships, winning the horse riding titles from 2017-19. A graduate of Mountain Heritage High School, Robinson also won the bull riding championship in 2019.

He credits the Treadways for putting him in a position to succeed and allowing him to live out a childhood dream.

"All I ever wanted to be was a cowboy," Robinson said. "Kenny and Kate kind of took me under their wing, and we have been kind of like family ever since."

According to Treadway, children from all over Western North Carolina became as close as family throughout his time as producer of Madison County Championship Rodeo.

"When we first started this deal, we hae a lot of kids from Madison, Yancey and Buncombe County," Treadway said. "We have people from Haywood County that come all the time. We even got people from Jackson County and all over. They just came here wanting to learn how to do rodeos and be cowboys and stuff like that.

"We just kind of took them in and showed them what we could teach them. As long as fear wasn't a factor to them, as long as they wanted to do it, we tried to show them the right way how to do it."

Thanks in part to TV shows such as "Yellowstone," cowboy culture has been rising in popularity.

"I believe it has opened it up to a broader range of people who might not ever would have been to a rodeo, or might not have even known such a thing still existed," Robinson said.

According to Treadway, the love for cowboy culture has "always been there" for many people.

"I think people always had it in their heart," Treadway said. "I think one of the main things with the rodeo is we still have prayer and the national anthem before we ever start that thing. I think we're God and country as you can be."

As always, nearly 60 years after his grandfather founded the fair and after his father ran it following that period, Treadway hopes to continue to spread the knowledge on to other cowboys and cowgirls.

"Now, we're starting a new generation and a new tradition with the Madison County Fairgrounds," Treadway said.

For more information on Madison County Championship Rodeo, visit its Facebook page.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Madison County rodeo embodies cowboy culture, returns to fairgrounds