Chase Lancaster
Robbinsville – A local man's plans to host a rodeo over the Fourth of July weekend have seemingly fallen through.
Chase Lancaster rented a property behind the Graham County Sanitation Department in October 2022, where he hosted the first rodeo in Graham County since the 1990s under his promotion, Lancaster Rodeo Productions.
Now, the former sheriff and commissioner candidate is looking for answers after his proposal before the county was struck down in a private message exchange on Facebook with commission chair Meggan Smith last week.
Lancaster shared screenshots of the conversation with The Graham Star, as well as on his Facebook profile. His pitch to the board at March 17's county meeting ended with the county requesting Lancaster speak with recreation director Thomas Menard for more details about hosting the event at the future site of the planned Graham County Agricultural Center off P & J Road. The two spoke on the phone before the meeting concluded, but no further action was taken.
Following Lancaster's 2022 revival of the tradition, rodeos have been held annually at the recreation department. This seemed to draw the ire of Lancaster in his post about the situation.
"Retaliation at its finest," Lancaster's April 8 post reads. "All I tried to do was help the county. They complained that they don't have any money. I tried to do something to help the county to bring in revenue for departments in the county and this is all I got: a big kick between the legs.
"Let's not forget who started the rodeo in Graham County in 2022, then got pushed to the side and all the credit was given to someone else – people that didn't jump through hoops, cover all legal aspects and bust their (expletive) to do it."
Lancaster's post included screenshots of a revised proposal, plus a screenshot of Smith's denial in a private message.
In the updated proposal, Lancaster had moved the dates of the rodeo to July 10-11 – which an idea first pitched by commissioners, so the rodeo did not interfere with the Graham County Heritage Festival. Lancaster's plan was to feature bull riding, ranch bronc riding and barrel racing both evenings, with a 50/50 raffle to support the Graham County Animal Refuge; a shotgun raffle for the Graham County Sheriff's Office; a bicycle raffle for Graham County EMS; tent, camper and RV accommodations to be made available, with proceeds benefitting the Graham County Fire Department; an opportunity for the Graham County Public Library to sell books on-site; and county officials to operate the concession stand and use proceeds to benefit the county's general fund.
Smith later said in a comment on the post that she had not spoken to other commissioners about the decision, but deferred to the county when asked by The Star for a statement.
"Graham County Extension staff have advised that surveying and site work has begun, as we prepare for construction of the Graham County Agricultural Center and recommended that no large events take place on the site until after the project is complete," reads the county's exclusive statement to The Star.