This was a great year for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. We sold more tickets than ever before--only 3,112 rodeo tickets out of 1,163,440 (.3 percent) were left after the last performance. More than 1 million people attended the rodeo for the third consecutive year, and our general attendance topped 1.7 million.

Weather did affect our attendance, however, causing more "no-shows" than usual. We continue to encourage people who buy rodeo tickets and don't attend to turn their tickets back to us for re-sale. No-shows are definitely a subject for discussion this summer.

You can read the numbers and statistics later in this issue of the magazine, and we'll talk about the bottom line in the next issue, but the reasons I'm so excited about the 1997 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo are not measured in numerical terms.

We hosted some of the most exciting rodeo action you'll ever see. It's as if we were watching a preview of the National Finals Rodeo (still nearly a year away)--the very best cowboys and cowgirls in the country. It wasn't uncommon to see scores in the eighties in bull riding, and times in the steer wrestling, calf roping, team roping and barrel racing that neared Dome records. We saw J.W. Hart's score of 89 break six-time World Champion All-Around Cowboy Ty Murray's Astrodome record of 88 in bull riding--a record that has remained unbroken since 1994!

We were privileged to watch 10-time Houston Rodeo champion Charmayne James on her PRCA Hall of Fame horse, Scamper. She only rides him in the top eight or nine rodeos each year. We also were thrilled to see another lady who represents the future of professional rodeo--14-year-old Fallon Taylor, this year's Houston Rodeo barrel racing champion. This extremely articulate and poised young athlete represents her sport well and helps spread the excitement of barrel racing and professional rodeo.

It's not the luck of the draw that the Houston Rodeo brings these great rodeo athletes to this event. This is an "invitation-only" rodeo--a cowboy or cowgirl has to be one of the top 64 in his or her event to even have a chance to compete for the richest purse in professional regular-season rodeo. It's well known that there are some people who only come to see our musical stars, but they are missing one of the most exciting sporting events in the world.

Of course, it's difficult to blame those folks who get excited about our singing cowboys and cowgirls! I heard all year that country music might be on a downturn, but you only had to be at the opening night performance and hear LeAnn Rimes or see the Clay Walker performance to believe in the future again. Of course, Reba, George and all of our other great entertainers did a pretty good job, too!

This Show did its best at entertaining while educating, too. The new Destination: AGventure area was fun and it taught kids and adults alike about production agriculture. All over the Astrohall and Astroarena, visitors to the Houston Livestock Show saw the very best horses, cattle, rabbits, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens and turkeys. Our exhibitors knew when they walked out of our show ring with a blue ribbon or a trophy, it was truly earned against some of the finest competition in the nation.

Yes, 1997 was a year to remember. We didn't want to see gray skies day after day, but our crowds were enthusiastic and large, our committee volunteers worked as hard as always, regardless of the weather, and it never rained in the Astrohall, Astroarena or Astrodome.

Thanks to all of you--volunteers, ticket buyers, corporate supporters and competitors--who made my first year as president an incredible experience. In the next three months, there will be hundreds of youngsters from all over Texas who will receive Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo scholarships and they'll be thanking you, too.

Jim Bloodworth, President