Chelsea puts on nights of entertainment with Bikes 4 Kids PCA Rodeo – Shelby County Reporter

By TYLER RALEY | Staff Writer

CHELSEA – On a holiday weekend with chills beginning to fill the air, residents of the city of Chelsea came together with smiles and cheers as the fourth annual Bikes 4 Kids PCA Rodeo was put on.

The rodeo, which took place on Halloween on Friday, Oct. 31 and Saturday, Nov. 1 in the field behind the new ALDI, brought people in for a couple of nights out, enjoying the entertainment while embracing the changing of the seasons.

“We feel like the rodeo is an important event for the community to enjoy,” said Charlie Bradford, founder and director of Bikes 4 Kids. “It brings families together for good, clean Christian fun. The kids really enjoy it, and that’s what we love the most is getting the kids involved.”

Although the holiday weekend was a unique time for the rodeo to take place, Bradford still feels that the event had a good turnout, being low on Halloween but extremely high at the Saturday showing.

Bradford went to the Chelsea City Council four years ago in 2022 in order to garner support to put on the event. Since then, he emphasizes that it has been a growing success and an event that the residents love.

“It means the world to us to have the city of Chelsea on board,” Bradford said. “When I approached the City Council four years ago about the rodeo, a few members were skeptical, but after a few more council meetings, we were able to get it up and going and the community proved that it is just what Chelsea needed for a fall event.”

The Bikes 4 Kids PCA Rodeo included a number of the classic rodeo events, including bareback riding, steer wrestling, saddle bronc, tie-down roping, Ranch bronc riding, team roping, break away roping, barrel racing and bull riding. The rodeo also kicked off by getting kids involved in the annual mutton bustin’ event, where kids competed to see how long they can ride on the back of a sheep.

All of the proceeds from the event went towards a good cause, as the money is used to go directly to Bikes 4 Kids and its Christmas program, providing bicycles for underprivileged kids across the Southeast.

In addition, former Chelsea Mayor Tony Picklesimer served as the rodeo’s grand marshal, which Bradford organized as a bout of appreciation for his service to the city as its leader.

“My favorite part was honoring our previous mayor Tony Picklesimer,” Bradford said. “I generally love the mutton bustin’, but honoring Tony and seeing him get emotional over it and speaking to the crowd was a great thing and his whole family was present.”

With the rodeo having wrapped up and been another big success within the city, the plans begin for next year’s edition.

It is event that Bradford has a deep passion for, and knows he wants to make it as vibrant as possible for the city’s residents to enjoy.

“The positive we’ll carry to our 2026 rodeo I think will be to learn more about our community on a more personal level and begin to let the community get involved more with the event itself,” Bradford said. “We’re passionate about giving back to the kids and loving our community and local communities as well. The rodeo is a big event that continues to grow and we give all the glory to God for blessing us with such a loving community.”