A local rodeo enthusiast is bringing the sport to Jones County in hopes of raising money for a group of Georgia junior bull riders headed to Oklahoma the second week of November.

Wendy Vaughn has arranged for the first of what she hopes will develop into an annual event, as the Beauty and the Beast Rodeo will be held Oct. 26-27 at the Jones County Lions Club Fairgrounds.

The rodeo will begin 8 p.m. each evening, with gates opening two hours before the start time. Admission will be $5.

“I’ve always wanted to put on a rodeo, and I talked to a lot of different people who said it would be $9,000 to$13,000 to bring in a good rodeo production,” Vaughn said. “With all of my years in rodeo, I knew I could put on a good quality rodeo for cheaper than that.”

Vaughn has received help from friends involving many of the aspects of the event, including the arena, stock, entertainers, judges, and announcer.

She is also thankful to the Lions Club for providing the venue.

Vaughn’s most pressing challenge with the rodeo set to open in right around a month is selling $6,000 worth of ads that would cover the cost of the production and allow for money made of the gate and concessions to be donated to the parents of the Georgia junior bull riders, who will help run the event.

Most of the Georgia Junior Bull Riders who are set to head to Oklahoma as national finalists, including Vaughn’s sons Storm and River, will also be riding in the local rodeo.

“I’ve got some pretty talented people who are going to be there,” Vaughn said.

The rodeo will begin with mutton bustin’, which will be followed by junior bull riding, barrel racing, and open-class bull riding.

Cash prizes will be awarded to the winners. For example, Vaughn stated that a participant in mutton bustin’ could take home as much as $600 for finishing first on both nights.

Information for entrants is available at the rodeo’s Web site, www.gajuniorbullriding.com.

Also available on the Web site is information for prospective sponsors.

Sponsorships are available for anywhere from $150 to $1,000 ranging from arena, chute, event, and nightly levels of sponsorship.

All sponsors will receive an ad in the program, an arena banner, and free tickets.

Also available are ads ranging from $25 to $100 for the rodeo’s program.

“This is something for local businesses to think about getting in on at the ground level,” Vaughn said.

Vaughn is also looking for volunteers to perform tasks such as setting up and taking down the arena.

“There are lots of opportunities available for volunteer work,” she said.

Vaughn can be contacted at bbrodeo@yahoo.com or (478) 361-9584.