After being postponed because of an epidemic scare, the Murray State 50th Annual Rodeo will finally be underway this weekend.

The rodeo will be during March 5 – 7, with all events beginning at 7 p.m., ending at 11 p.m, at the Murray State Cherry Expo Center on 2101 College Farm Rd.

Coach Matt Papszycki, the rodeo coach for Murray State University, said in an interview with radio station WKDZ on Nov. 19, tickets previously purchased in the fall semester would be validated this weekend if patrons did not pursue a refund.

Papszycki spoke on the anticipation of the event that’s garnered in the last three months with the Murray State News.

“We’re beyond excited to get (the 50th Annual Rodeo) started this weekend,” Papszycki said. “We had to postpone to help stop the spread of a virus that became prevalent a day before our scheduled event. No remorse, since it died down pretty quickly.”

The virus Paszycki referred to is Equine Herpesvirus, which shut down operations at Murray State after an outbreak was discovered in Waco, Texas. 

“We’re postponing the rodeo until we can figure out the severeness of this outbreak down there because we don’t want to bring it to Kentucky,” Papszycki said to WKDZ in November.

Sid Miller, Texas Agriculture Commissioner, alerted those associated with rodeo events to act swiftly.

“This virus can spread fast,” Miller said. “It can be deadly and the earliest signs are often so subtle they’re easy to miss. … The quicker we identify a case, the better chance we have to protect not only our animals, but the entire Texas equine community.”