Jake McClure, seen in this 1937 image, has been an important figure in the history of the Lea County Fair and Rodeo. He was in his late 30s when he died in a horse accident in 1940, but his legacy lives through the Jake McClure Arena, which was designed by another Lovington man, two-time world champion Troy Fort.
(COURTESY OF LEA COUNTY)
LOVINGTON, N.M. – Nearly a century ago, the country was embroiled in The Great Depression.
The stock market crashed in October 1929. Banks folded. Businesses collapsed. Families found desperation in the depression, which lasted almost a decade. In the middle of that, though, resourceful souls gathered together to generate a sense of community and build on resourcefulness. That’s how the Lea County Fair and Rodeo was developed, and the mindset that came with it is why it continues to thrive today.
Lea County will honor the exposition’s 90th anniversary Friday, July 31-Saturday, Aug. 8, with Lovington’s biggest party and celebration of the region and its ability to overcome all challenges.
The creation of the Lea County Fair came about in 1935, when Lovington Daily Leader editor Luke Roberts led an effort to enhance farming in the area and called for a meeting of people interesting in following that path. The fair then came into light, and within a year, the Lea County Fair Association’s board was established.
Except for the years during World War II and COVID in 2020, the expo has been continuous. From the beginning, it attracted thousands from across southeastern New Mexico. Originally housed near the courthouse square, the expo brought people into Lovington. The property on the east side town became home to the fair and rodeo by 1940. It’s been that way ever since.
In 1960, Jake McClure Arena was built, and the rest of the fairgrounds was laid out with that in mind. Designed by world champion tie-down roper Troy Fort, the arena was paid for by selling boxes, said Dean Jackson, a Lovington man who has been involved in the fair and rodeo for the better part of the last two decades.
“The citizens of Lea County paid for that arena buy buying box seats,” said Jackson, who served on the fair board from 2006-’13 and on the Lea County Commission from 2017-’24. “My father-in-law and a guy named J.D. Doran went together and bought a box seat. Paying for all those box seats funded the arena.
“When it was built, it was built for a (steer roping) arena. That’s why it’s shaped the way it is.”
Jackson was raised in a ranching family near Lovington. He also owns Dean’s Boot Shop in Hobbs, New Mexico, but considers ranching his second job. When he was younger, he roped calves.
“My grandfather was a rancher, and rodeo was just part of our culture,” he said. “We grew up with world champions, like Troy Fort, “Tuffy,” Roy, Jimmie (all three with the last name of Cooper) and all the others. They were our neighbors. I guess that’s why it’s instilled in us to just love rodeo, love the camaraderie.”
Lea County has an incredible legacy in rodeo, but there’s much more to the fair. The fair board’s mission is focused on youth, just as it was 90 years ago. The FFA and 4-H exhibits are the event’s backbone, but the overall entertainment is why people from southeastern New Mexico and west Texas make their way to Lovington every summer.