LOVINGTON, N.M. – The volunteers who help organize Lovington’s annual rodeo do everything they can to make it as special as possible for everyone involved.

That sometimes calls for adjustments to be made, and it’s the case for this year’s Lea County Fair and Rodeo, set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 6-Saturday, Aug. 9; that also includes Lea County Xtreme Bulls, which is Tuesday, Aug. 5.

“We changed the women’s breakaway roping to a two-header,” said Kyle Johnston, a Lea County Fair Board member and chairman of the rodeo committee. “We’re also changed our Xtreme Bulls to a one-header.”

Breakaway roping’s popularity has exploded in recent years. It first appeared in Lovington’s rodeo in 2021 and has grown since then. Over the last few years, cowgirls have made just one run. This year’s schedule will allow them to rope twice; once will be done in slack each morning, and the ladies with the fastest times will return for that evening’s performance to make their second run. The other competitors will make Run 2 later in the morning.

Since it was added to the fair and rodeo in 2012, the Xtreme Bulls has been a two-ride affair. The top scores from the “long round” advanced to the championship round, and the cowboy with the best two-ride cumulative score was crowned champion. This year’s night of bull riding only will crown the champion who posted the best score out of 40 rides.

“Some of the girls over the last several years have been talking about making it a two-header,” Johnston said. “We thought, ‘We’ll try it, because it’s not going to take up that much more time as far as our slack goes, so let’s give it a try.’

“As for the Xtreme Bulls, a lot of those guys are pretty beat up by that time of year, so it’s tough to consider coming to get on two rank bulls in one night when you’re already beat up. We thought by making it a one-header, we might get a few more entries from the top guys.”

In both cases, the rodeo committee was looking out for the best interest of the contestants. Why? Lovington’s rodeo has always been a cowboys’ (and cowgirls’) rodeo. The region is rich with men and women who raise livestock or work in the elements. Fairgoers and rodeo fans know they have a good thing when it comes to their hometown rodeo.

This is the second straight year the rodeo will feature $25,000 of “added money” in each event. Those dollars will be mingled with contestants’ entry fees to make up the overall purse. That’s attractive to the cowboys and cowgirls that make their living on the road, fighting for every penny available.

Xtreme Bulls also features a large payout. There will be $37,500 in local dollars added into the mix. In all, Lea County is contributing $287,500 into this year’s payout.

“With every move we make, we’re trying to get more of the top guys, pull them down here from the North,” Johnston said. “We want them to enter the rodeo, and we want them to come to Lovington, so we want to try to make everything better for them.”