Cowboy Day to feature new tractor show, hobby horse tournament

Published 3:54 pm Monday, January 20, 2020

By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA – The 12th annual Columbiana Cowboy Day on Feb. 29 will feature many of the same activities families have grown accustomed to over the years, along with two new activities that could become favorites.

A tractor show and a hobby horse tournament will join the usual lineup of vendors, live music, cowboy shootout, chili cookoff and cornhole tournament, according to Community Relations and Senior Center Director Ali Payne.

“We had a committee meeting to get some new ideas for Cowboy Day, and the ideas for a tractor show and a hobby horse tournament came from that meeting,” Payne said. “Columbiana Tractor agreed to sponsor the tractor show, and we all agree that it fits in well with the cowboy theme.”

The tractor show will be held in the parking lot of the former Alabama Power building on North Main Street.

Payne said the hobby horse tournament started off more as a joke, when a friend sent her a video from YouTube of kids racing stick horses through a jumping course, jumping low fences and running around obstacles.

“Apparently, some people take it very seriously,” Payne said. “But we wanted to have a free, fun activity for kids, and we thought the Hobby Horse Course would be a lot of fun for everyone.”

The course will be open all day, and the tournament will be held at 11 a.m. Kids will race against others their age, and prizes will be awarded to the winners.

The Columbiana Police Department is sponsoring a Red Rider BB gun shooting booth, where kids will be shown BB Gun safety and will get to shoot at targets at no charge, Payne said.

“Love to Dance” Line Dancers will perform at 9:30 a.m.

Attendees can hear live music from Michael Warren at 10 a.m. and Taylor Hunnicutt at 12:30 p.m.

The cornhole tournament, sponsored by Lay Lake Cornhole Association, will start at 10 a.m., as will the beef cookoff. Chili cookoff judging will take place at 1 p.m.

The Wild West Shootout on Main Street will be held at noon.

The Cowboy Day Parade will start at 2:30 p.m.

Sponsored by the City of Columbiana and the Shelby County Cattleman’s Association, Cowboy Day is a rain-or-shine event and will take place on North Main Street between Depot and Meyer streets.

The 33rd Annual Cattleman’s Rodeo will be held Feb. 28 and Feb. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Shelby County Exhibition Center.