Angelina Benefit Rodeo Closes with More Great Mutton Bustin'

The Angelina Benefit Rodeo closed with two great nights of action on Friday and Saturday. A little over a year ago, Lufkin native Mike Mathis made the announcement that the 2020 edition of the rodeo would be cancelled due to safety concerns with the ongoing pandemic. He also made mention that in 2021, the Angelina Benefit Rodeo would be back better than ever. That's exactly how it played out.

It looked like East Texans were ready to get back out and experience live events once again. Big crowds showed up each night, but especially on Saturday night. Whether you were heading to the rodeo or just driving the north Loop in Lufkin, you saw the massive lines of vehicles waiting to get into the Expo Center parking lot.

Friday night's mutton bustin' presented by KICKS 105, Justin, and Boot Barn offered more great rides from young cowboys and cowgirls. Raidyn Hawthorne's 91-point ride aboard Fluffy Fury was good enough to take top honors for the night. The video below features most of the riders of the night, unfortunately, there was a settings error that cause 2 or 3 of the last rides not to get recorded, including the overall winning ride.

Here are the scores from Friday night's contestants:

Jase Berry - 80
Caleb Butler -76
Kaegan Clifton - 75
Easton Cole - 76
Mickey Collier - 81
Bridger Franks - 76
Guesna Friesen - 83
Braudon Fussell - 75
Logan Pillows - 78
Neveah Pillows - 82
Raidyn Hawthorne - 91

Mutton Busters 4-23-21

Saturday night picked up where Friday left. 12 more young cowboys and cowgirls competed in front of a packed house. When the dust settle, Emma Carswell took honors with a score of 88 points.