Houstonians lined the streets of downtown for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Parade on Saturday, February 26. The Downtown Rodeo Parade has been a tradition since 1938, filling the streets with colorful floats, horses and riders, marching bands, and smiling faces.

The 2005 Downtown Rodeo Parade winners are:

FLOATS

• Sweepstakes Award – McDonald’s

• Theme Award – Ranch Style/Rotel/Wolf Brand Chili Float

• Originality Award – Fiesta Mart

• Beautiful Award – San Jacinto Strawberry Festival

• Chairman’s Award – Kraft Foods

• President’s Award – Schepp’s Dairy

TRAIL RIDE PARADE AWARDS

• Top Trail Ride – Prairie View Trail Ride

• Best Appearing Wagon – Salt Grass Wagon #13 – The Desperados 

• Best Show Wagon – Valley Lodge Ride #3 – The Bobby Schmidt Wagon

The top race finishers in the 10K race included:

• Overall Male – Sean Wade, 39, Houston, 31:29:95

• Overall Female – Kelly Keane, 32, The Woodlands, Texas, 34:01:40

• Masters Male – William Martin, 50, Dodge, Texas, 35:34:60

• Masters Female – Carmen Ayala-Troncoso, 45, Austin, Texas, 35:26:80

• Wheelchair Male – Ramiro Bermudez, 45, Houston, 28:18:15

• Wheelchair Female – Michelle Colvard, 29, Houston, 1:09:18:80

Top finishers in the 5K fun run were:

• Overall Male – Marcel Hewamudalige, 21, Houston

• Overall Woman – April Nowak, 13, Magnolia, Texas

World’s championship bar-b-que contest winners  announced at the 2005 Houston Livestock Show  and Rodeo™ — February 26, 2005    By car, bus and rail, thousands of visitors followed the  aroma of barbecue to Reliant Park for the World’s  Championship Bar-B-Que Contest Feb. 24 – 26.

The 2005 championship winners are:

Grand Champion Overall  
Team Name: Confederated Cooks  
Chief Cook: Stanley Wells
Team Coordinator: John Rogers   

Champion Chicken
Team Name: Confederated Cooks  
Chief Cook: Stanley Wells
Team Coordinator: John Rogers   

Champion Ribs   
Team Name: Trinity County       
Chief Cook: Terry Tullos        
Team Coordinator: Grover Worsham        

Champion Brisket 
Team Name: Maverick Kookers 
Chief Cook: Ray Brown 
Team Coordinator: Morgan Davis 

Most Colorful Team      
Team Name: Chevy Cookers        
Chief Cook: John D. Clifton     
Team Coordinator: John D. Clifton        

Cleanest Team Area 
Team Name: Blowing Smoke 
Chief Cook: Adolph Cruz 
Team Coordinator: Jennie Rankin

Most Unique Pit 
Team Name: Mind Erasers         
Chief Cook: James Besch 
Team Coordinator: Dave Douglas          

Best Team Skit 
Team Name: Devil’s River Mountain Men  
Chief Cook: Bill Eggleston  
Team Coordinator: Bill Eggleston 

Go Texan Best Bar-B-Que 
Team Name: Trinity County       
Chief Cook: Terry Tullos        
Team Coordinator: Grover Worsham        

Go Texan Most Colorful Team 
Team Name: Angelina County 
Chief Cook: Greg Burch 
Team Coordinator: Shawn Kaemmerling  

Champion Recycling Team 
Team Name: Blowing Smoke        
Chief Cook: Adolph Cruz 
Team Coordinator: Jennie Rankin         

Go Texan Recycling 
Team Name: Austin County 
Chief Cook: Garry Kuciemba 
Team Coordinator: Garry Kuciemba 

Scholarships

High school seniors from 60 Texas counties were awarded Area Go Texan scholarships from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo during the Show’s 2005 Area Go Texan Scholarship Banquet.

Each of the 60 Area Go Texan counties is guaranteed a two-year, $6,000 scholarship for a qualified student in its area, but that may increase to a four-year, $12,000 scholarship based on each county’s participation in Show related activities.

The Area Go Texan counties are Anderson, Angelina, Austin, Bastrop, Bee, Bell, Bosque, Brazos, Burleson, Calhoun, Cherokee, Colorado, DeWitt, Falls, Fayette, Freestone, Goliad, Gonzales, Gregg, Grimes, Hardin, Harrison, Henderson, Hill, Houston, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Karnes, Lavaca, Lee, Leon, Limestone, Live Oak, Madison, Matagorda, McLennan, Milam, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Newton, Nueces, Orange, Panola, Polk, Refugio, Robertson, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, San Patricio, Shelby, Trinity, Tyler, Victoria, Walker, Washington, Wharton and Williamson counties.

The Area Go Texan scholarships are part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s annual commitment to Texas students of more than $7.5 million in scholarships and educational programs. Since the Show’s educational program began in 1957, more than $100 million has been committed to the youth of Texas through scholarships and educational programs.

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, a 501(c)(3) charity that benefits youth and supports education, will run March 1 – 20. 

With the conclusion of the opening weekend activities, the fun has only just begun. Brooks & Dunn will help open RODEOHOUSTON this Tuesday, March 1, and there are still loge and upper level seats available! In fact, there are still tickets available to every Show!

For a schedule of events or more information, visit www.rodeohouston.com or www.hlsr.com.