SAN ANTONIO — It’s time to get rodeo ready, starting with the new cowboy charge!
KENS5 saddled up with the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo’s newly named executive director and CEO, Cody Davenport. As former president, he has climbed to the top spot with ample experience and fresh ideas to make this year’s arena shows more memorable than ever before.
Davenport was born and raised in south Texas, splitting most of his early years between San Antonio and Uvalde. The ranch life was sown deep into his roots by his grandfather, who also happened to be something more.
“He was my hero. From the day I was born, it’s what I respected. It’s what I knew, and it’s what I always wanted to be,” Davenport said. He always knew his path would lead to an occupation requiring a cowboy hat and boots.
“I had a little pair of cowboy boots about that big,” he gestured on one hand. “I think (my parents) had them by my crib.”
In other words, Davenport was born to be wild and groomed all his life to fill the boots of this new role. More than any other accomplishment, he said he preferred to focus on the highlights of the community, visiting various police precincts and fire stations to reward first responders with free tickets to rodeo shows.
“For the first time ever, we’re going to be rolling out a First Responders Night,” he said. “We’ll be representing all the various branches of first responders in San Antonio.”
When asked what the community should expect this year from the Stock Show and Rodeo, Davenport said his vision is to keep one foot spurred in old western traditions and the other in the new trends of the contemporary times.
Besides the 120 bands performing throughout the span of the rodeo through new experiences like Rodeo After Dark, Davenport looks forward to the new initiatives being organized outside arena walls and into the community he’s always called home.
Davenport moved to San Antonio with his mother and graduated from Churchill High School. Soon after, he attended both Texas State University and Texas A&M University. Shortly after getting married, Davenport and his wife took on leadership positions in the volunteer corps for the Auction Committee.
He was later challenged to lead the Bar-B-Que Cook-Off & Festival.
“Here I am, looking back and thinking of the first time we were out there taking care of our buyers in that auction, to those very first BBQs, to now being blessed in life to sit here and be able to look over this whole show,” he said.