The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has been closed due to concerns about coronavirus after a local man with no recent travel history tested positive for COVID-19.

Mayor Sylvester Turner made the announcement on Wednesday, causing participants and spectators to scramble to make alternative arrangements.

Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said at a news conference that the man likely attended a barbecue cook-off for the Rodeo late last month, though it was unclear if he had symptoms at the time.

Tracy Johns, who for years competed in American Quarter Horse and National Snaffle Bit Association events said her husband, Terry, and her daughter, McKenzie Kostel, traveled from their home in McKinney, Texas, to Houston for McKenzie to compete in Angus heifers.

“They left the house at 6 a.m., on Tuesday morning so that they could go get in line with all the other trailers around noon,” Tracy explained. “They sat in the line until around midnight when they were able to start moving into the barns. They got her heifer unloaded and settled and this afternoon is when the information started coming out that, first, just the rodeo and the carnival would be closed. Nothing was said about the Livestock Show at that time. We waited until the news conference from the mayor where he and the leadership from the Houston Livestock show announced that everyone would need to be out of the barns by 4 p.m. and the show was canceled for the year.

Many of the youth attending were in their senior year and the Houston Livestock Show is typically the last major event in which they would compete.

“You also have the kids who are not seniors who have spent a good 12 months on these projects from early morning till late at night and they have blood sweat and tears invested in these projects,” Tracy explained. “There are a lot of scholarship dollars available for the various competitions whether it’s the livestock or leadership competitions but all that is now gone for them this year.”

For those with market animals with the sheep goats hogs and steers the Houston Livestock Show offers some of the best opportunities to compete, do well and sell their projects and recover what they’ve put into their investment. 

“Many of these market animals are upwards of $50,000 to $60,000 for the highly competitive market steers and exhibitors now no longer have the opportunity to compete, make a sale and put money away for college,” Tracy said. “The youth with breeding animals have every bit of the same amount of investment in their animals, and the titles they earn will contribute value to their breeding projects and the resulting offspring.

Hundreds of youth also compete in the Calf Scramble.

“These kids would have scrambled last year and bought their projects with their Scramble money, which is generously donated by various businesses and people who want to help these kids succeed,” Tracy explained. “For the last 12 months, the kids with the scramble projects have been sending update letters to their sponsors, creating beautiful displays, and keeping various records for these projects to then come back and compete for thousands of dollars of scholarships. All that is gone. The work, the time, is all gone.”

According to reports in the Houston Chronicle, rodeo officials said they were “deeply saddened” but agreed with the city’s move to cancel the livestock show and rodeo.

“As hard as this is to do, it is the right thing to do,” said Joel Crowley, president and chief executive of the Rodeo.

Rodeo officials said they plan to post details on the festival’s website about how people with tickets to future events can obtain refunds, though Crowley did not say when that information would be available. The Rodeo grounds closed at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization Wednesday morning as there are now over 118,000 cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, in 114 countries around the world. Breed associations and other equine organizations are weighing the risks and determining whether to cancel events, such as shows and conventions.

Each year the Houston Livestock & Horse Show features Cutting competitions and Ranch Rodeo events, to breed shows and mounted shooting competitions. The Quarter Horse show includes classes in Barrel Racing, Pole Bending, Cutting and Roping. The Ametrican Paint Horse Association classes include English and Western Performance, Horsemanship, Showmanship, Trail and Ranch classes, in addition to speed events. The Youth Horse Show is an all- breed youth horse show with classes for registered and unregistered horses.

The American Paint Horse Association announced that while Paint barrel racers would complete runs that were taking place on Wednesday, other portions of the APHA-approved Paint Horse show taking place at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will be canceled.

The association posted this notice on its official website: “APHA urges members to stay safe and use discretion while traveling during this time. Learn more about ways to protect yourself at CDC.gov. To stay informed of news concerning APHA events, follow our Facebook page, Official American Paint Horse Association,  For questions regarding potential cancellations of upcoming APHA events, please contact specific show managers directly—contact information can be found at aphaonline.org under the “Public Access–Calendar of Events” tab.

The American Quarter Horse Association announced earlier this week that due to rapidly escalating health concerns related to the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), its 2020 Annual Convention, scheduled for March 13-16 at the South Point Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, has been canceled.

“We’ve made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s convention, based on the latest reports concerning the coronavirus,” said Craig Huffhines, AQHA executive vice president. “We are deeply concerned for the health and safety of the convention’s registrants from around the world and AQHA staff who must travel to Las Vegas for the event.”

With the cancellation of the convention, registrants will automatically receive a full refund for their registration fees.

The South Point Hotel & Casino will also waive room cancellation fees. Contact the South Point Hotel & Casino at (866) 791-7626 to cancel room reservations.

“We greatly appreciate the professionalism and courtesy that the South Point Hotel & Casino has shown AQHA and our convention registrants with handling this situation,” said Huffhines.

The Palomino Horse Breeders of America has, so far, decided to go ahead with plans to hold its 2020 National Convention, March 18-21 at the President Abraham Lincoln Doubletree in Springfield, Illinois. 

“We are monitoring the situation closely and will announce any changes as soon as they are made,” officials said. Visit the association’s website at www.palominohba.com for up-to-the minute information.