By: Taylor Whitney
The Lee County Posse, founded in 1960, is currently the only non-profit arena available for use in Southwest Florida. Members pay a fee and can use the arena anytime outside of scheduled events. A group of elected board members runs the Lee County Posse. The current board members are President Sherry Groff, Vice President Debbie Whitney, Treasure Kathy Cross, Secretary Annette Detzel, and Junior Posse Advisor Bobbi Harrison, along with others. Many more volunteers donate their time to help provide people of all ages with a welcoming, safe place to ride their horses. They are funded and supported through sponsorships, advertisements, and local businesses that donate their time, money, and equipment to maintain and improve the facility.
The organization’s biggest fundraiser is the Cracker Day Rodeo, hosted in January of each year except for in 2018 due to Hurricane Irma. The rodeo is held on a little piece of land purchased by five local businessmen who took out mortgages on their own properties to purchase a place for local youth to ride. The upcoming 64th Annual Lee County Posse Arena Cracker Day Rodeo will be held on January 24th, 25th & 26th, 2025. This event draws in both local families and professional cowboys and cowgirls from all over the country to compete. Sunday morning before the rodeo, Cowboy Church is hosted, which is free and open for anyone to attend. Cowboy Church is an outdoor sermon using a horse to teach practical life lessons. The Lee County Posse also holds a youth rodeo for ages 0-18. It will be held on January 4th, 2025. You can expect most of the traditional rodeo events at both of these rodeos, including bull riding, team roping, bulldogging, barrel racing, pole bending, mutton busting, and a calf scramble. Vendors come from all over to sell specialty products such as Western clothing, jewelry, homemade items, horse tack, decor, and more. Food vendors and the Lee County Posse Concession stand will also be on site. A newly added covered V.I.P. section seating with dinner catered by a local company is a great way to watch the festivities.
I encourage you to come out, enjoy the rodeo, and support the arena and all they do for our community. Tickets will be available for purchase in December. If you want to sponsor the event or for more information, please contact the Lee County Posse’s Treasurer, Kathy Cross, at 239-851-3053 or visit their website, www.leecountyposse.com.
