Children in Jonesville had some pretty big cowboy boots to fill this weekend at the Black River Round-up arena.

Saturday, approximately 30 children, toddlers to 18-years-old, competed in the Catahoula Riding Club’s Play Day Rodeo, where many of them rode like professionals while others were still working on the courage to ride like the big cowboys.

They competed in a number of events, including sheep riding, calf riding, stick horse barrels, goat ribbon tail pulling, goat flipping, stake race and many more.

The children compete for prizes they’ll receive at the end of the year at the club’s awards banquet, but many of the parents say the children compete just to have fun.

“She loves (the rodeo),” Jana Miller, mother of rodeo competitor Jansen, 9, said.

“It’s her favorite thing to do.”

The club was organized six years ago by the club’s president, Sam Mason of Harrisonburg, La., who decided to do it when the town started talking about doing away with the arena.

Mason said before he started the club, the arena was only being used twice a year, and he wanted the children to have somewhere they could practice rodeo.

“I wanted to be a cowboy when I was a kid, but daddy kept me busy and wouldn’t sponsor me,” Mason said.

So, six years ago he started the club and has been teaching area children how to rope and ride ever since.

“I have kids learning here (and) I don’t even know who they are,” Mason said.

“But, I teach them as if they’re my own.”

The club has one more play day rodeo left for the year on Oct. 2. The rodeo is open for everyone with events for children toddlers to 18-years-olds and adults ages 19 and older. Registration is at 4 p.m., and events start at 5 p.m.