Spooner Rodeo Entertainment 2024
PRO RODEO ANNOUNCER: KELLY KENNEY
Kelly Kenney was born in 1975 and raised in a small town in southwest Missouri with hard working, loving parents and two older brothers. Kenney credits his parents for allowing his dreams of becoming a cowboy to come true. He says, “Just now I realize how many sacrifices my family made to haul me to all of those high school rodeos. (We were) Living off of very little, but I never knew it, I felt I was the richest kid in the world.”
At an early age he learned to ride a stubborn little sorrel pony, and it wasn’t long before that experience developed into a love of rodeo. In high school, he learned how to rope and bulldog, and how to play guitar. He went to college on a rodeo scholarship. Soon officiating high school and college baseball and basketball, rodeoing, picking and singing consumed his life, leaving him with very little time for anything else. Then accidentally, in 1996. at a rodeo in his home town, the announcer didn’t show. Kenney reluctantly agreed to help. That night in November of ’96, he was “bitten by the entertainment bug,” as he puts it.
The next four years of Kenney’s life were jammed packed with excitement. He was announcing rodeos and competing hard all summer, officiating college baseball in the springtime, calling basketball games all winter and filling any otherwise vacant time slots with singing gigs. It didn’t take long for Kelly Kenney to realize his life was being consumed with work and travel, leaving little time for the things he loved at home - his family, hunting, fishing, and ranching.
In 2000 he became the head rodeo coaching position at Missouri Valley College in Marshall, MO. The next year Kenney was encouraged by his peers, students and family to pursue a career in the field that he had originally started years earlier, announcing rodeos. Kenney turned pro in 2001, resigned from the college in good standing, hung up his officiating uniforms and has never looked back.
Now Kenney announces PRCA Rodeos full time working approximately 30-40 events each year, traveling from Georgia to California and Texas to Montana. Last year he announced three Wisconsin rodeos, Spooner, Madison and Merrill. Despite his busy schedule all around the United States, last year, for example Kenney was able to fit in a fishing vacation in May and a hunting trip in November.
With a cow/calf operation at home, Kenney’s life remains full of responsibilities. Kenney says, “Now when rodeo season slows down in the fall, I get a chance to go hunting, pick with the band and auctioneer some sales. Most importantly, I get to truly enjoy my family.”
To find out more about Kelly Kenney, visit his website: http://www.kellykenney.com/index.html
ENTERTAINMENT: LINDY LICA-ROMAN AND TRICK RIDER
Lindy is a professional trick and Roman rider from Bloomington, IL. She began trick riding at the age of 10 and has been performing rodeos, Wild West shows, and dinner theaters over half of her life. She rides two flashy and fast buckskin horses Colt .45 and Remington, who have taken her all over the country performing their death defying craft. She was asked to perform stunt work on the film Cowgirls and Angels 2: Dakota’s Summer, a family film with a focus on the trick riding lifestyle; and has been a feature performer at Dolly Parton’s Stampede where she performed over 800 shows a year. Lindy began using her talents competitively in 2014 where her Roman riding act was named the IPRA Contract Act Showcase Champion. In 2016 she qualified for the North American Trick Riding Championships in Las Vegas, NV; and has been voted PRCA Top 5 Dress Act twice. Lindy will have you at the edge of your seat with the trust and finesse her horses and her display through their performances.
RODEO CLOWN: GIZMO MCCRACKEN
Gizmo McCracken, the "2017 Comedy Act of the Year" has been entertaining crowds across the Country for many years. He became a member of the PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) in 1992. Since that time the list of accomplishments has grown beyond belief. Working 19 PRCA Circuit Finals Rodeos in 10 of the 12 circuits, 2023 NFR OPEN, Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, Cheyenne Frontier Days, Nominated "Coors Man in the Can" 3 times, Nominated "Clown of the Year", 2017 Comedy Act of the Year, Nominated for Comedy Act of the year 11 times, voted onto the short list for the Wrangler National Final Rodeo Barrel Man in 2017 and a feature act at the 2005 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Gizmo takes pride in the fact that his humor is good, clean, family style comedy. Gizmo travels the country from Canada to Texas, from the East Coast to the West Coast logging thousands of miles a year through dozens of states. Gizmo started his career as bullfighter and moved into stand-up comedy on a show in Branson, MO. Gadgets and gizmos that went sour were often part of his routine, hence the name "Gizmo, The World's Greatest Inventor." Clowns today are changing fast but Gizmo holds on to the core of the Rodeo Clown as it was designed years ago. Gizmo will work your rodeo from start to finish. No one in the industry works harder at making your event everything it can possibly be than Gizmo. He has a wide variety of acts to suit any need and can provide variety if you desire by using multiple act at your event. He supplies a Character and that is just what he is. Many of Gizmo's Characters will find their way into your town and your arena. "I like to keep people looking for me and wondering what I am going to do next." said Gizmo. The acts share a high energy, clean , family oriented feel which adds a fresh new atmosphere to any rodeo he is a part of. Gizmo is the Best Comedy Entertainer that this sport has to offer. Regardless of whether you have seen him before or this is your first experience I am confident that you will leave laughing.
COUNTRY MUSIC: SAVANNAH RAE
Savannah Rae is an all-American country singer-songwriter who proudly hails from San Antonio, Texas. Born into a music and arts loving family, Savannah’s own journey to becoming a fast-rising entertainer and songwriter was inspired by a trip to an Evanescence concert in 2009.
Not long after that, at age 11, she was enrolled into vocal and guitar lessons at GRAMMY award winning Michael Morales’ Rockstar Academy. More recently Savannah has given performances in intimate venues around Texas, all the way to the main stage of the Texas State Fair in 2016 where she opened for Jason Aldean. She’s also made appearances on American Music Awards and on NBC’s The Voice, along with being a brand ambassador for Boot Barn, Country Outfitter, C Force Water by Chuck Norris, and Miranda Lambert’s clothing line, Idyllwind.
Throughout 2022 Savannah will release a series of songs that she wrote with iconic Nashville songwriters Britton Cameron, Holly Lamar, and country music icon Pam Tillis. https://www.thesavannahrae.com/