JONESBORO, Ark. – Any great sporting event needs a combination of superlatives in order to be successful: Great athletes and phenomenal action.

That’s just what happens when Pete Carr and his staff of experts produce a rodeo, and it’s what fans have come to expect. The combination will be in plain view during the NEA District Fair and Rodeo, set for 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13-Saturday, Sept. 14, at the Arkansas State University Convocation Center in Jonesboro.

“It’s nice to go to a rodeo and have really good horses, because you know the stock contractor is going to have that kind of caliber of animals,” said saddle bronc Jake Wright, a 2012 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo from Milford, Utah. “You know it’s going to be a riding contest instead of a drawing contest. It’s pretty sweet.”

Wright knows first-hand just how sweet it is. He shared the bronc riding victory at the Lea County (N.M.) Fair and Rodeo in early August with his oldest brother, two-time world champion Cody Wright; both cowboys earned their share of the titles on Carr Pro Rodeo horses. Like all other cowboys who make their livings riding bucking beasts, the Wrights know they’ll have a fair chance to win any time they compete on horses owned by Carr Pro Rodeo or Pete Carr’s Classic Pro Rodeo.

“That’s a lot of animals pooled together in one spot,” said Will Lowe, a three-time world champion bareback rider from Canyon, Texas. “You can put together whatever type of pen you want when you have that many horses, and it’s always going to be in the high 80s.”

Carr made a name for himself with great animal athletes, then he upped the ante earlier this year when he acquired Pete Carr’s Classic. This year, he will produce 34 rodeos in 17 states.

“I’m combining two of the best crews in rodeo to form one of the top rodeo companies in our industry,” said Pete Carr, the owner of the stock contracting firms. “I’m excited about the new opportunities that are ahead for the company. I want committees to know we have a lot to offer them. We’re going to have unprecedented resources for all the rodeos, which will benefit everyone involved: committees, sponsors, contestants and spectators.”

That’s a big reason why Carr will be in Jonesboro for this year’s NEA District Fair and Rodeo, which is an entertainment festival for 16 counties in northeastern Arkansas.

“Pete’s got a heck of a string put together,” said saddle bronc rider Wade Sundell, a four-time NFR qualifier from Boxholm, Iowa. “There are not a lot of people that can match him anymore.”

Sundell has done awfully well on Carr animals this year. He won the rodeo in Claremore, Okla., by matching moves with Carr Pro Rodeo’s Social Call. He placed second in Guymon, Okla., on Carr Pro Rodeo Miss Congeniality; still, his biggest win of the season came when he won the $50,000 round at RodeoHouston on Pete Carr’s Classic’s Big Tex after a 90-point ride.

“It’s awesome when you have a good horse underneath you, because you know something good is going to happen,” he said.

But the animal is just half the equation; it takes a solid performance by the man on the beast to make for a winning score. That’s what fans will experience in Jonesboro.