Hawkins Rides Off With First Place At Bull-A-Rama by Jennifer Caldwell, Northwest Journalism Student "It's the ropes and the reins. It's the joy and the pain, and they call the thing a rodeo." Actually, once a year they call it the Northwest Mississippi Community College John Deere BULL-A-RAMA. Student athletes joined professional cowboys and amateurs to raise money for the college's rodeo team Nov. 16 in the Multipurpose Livestock Arena at the Northwest Farm. Jason Hawkins of Pontotoc rode off with the $748 first-place prize. Not far behind were second place, Joshua McCloud of Baldwyn; third place, Cody Rhoda of Collierville, Tenn.; fourth place, Brandon Finley of Hernando; and Bradley Wiggins of Memphis, fifth place. Of the 39 participants in the competition, only nine made it to the eight-second whistle atop 2,000-pound bulls. The powerful bucking bulls were provided by J-Bar-B Rodeo Company, 5-M Rodeo Company, Donnie Ross Bucking Bulls, and J.T. Bucking Bulls. The rodeo featured Rick Crawford of Jonesboro, Ark., a renowned rodeo announcer and recording artist, and Randy Mayer of Potts Camp played funny man for the evening. Dusty Myers and Jason Edlin, both of Nesbit, were bullfighters to make sure all the riders were safe. The Senatobia Optimist Club assisted the fans with parking. The money raised will provide the rodeo team with funds to compete in the seven-state Ozark Region of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association.