Rodeo is a sport that reflects the talents and skills of working cowboys.
Different events testing those skills, from calf roping, steer wrestling, barrel racing, bareback riding, saddle bronco riding, popular bull riding and more take place at rodeos across the country from spring to December, making rodeo one of the most popular sports in the USA.
Infact, Rodeo is the official state sport of both Texas and Wyoming.
ARIZONA
Florence Junior Parada
November
Florence
The Florence Junior Parada is the oldest sanctioned youth rodeo in the United States. It pits the youngest of riders against the oldest of venues to showcase their youthful cowboy skills.
The rodeo attracts youngsters ages five to 18 from across the Southwest. Over the years, some of these youngsters have gone on to compete nationally. There is a Saturday morning parade which evokes times past with stagecoaches, mounted posses and young and old on horseback, also vintage vehicles, clowns, dancers and more. Catch the “cowboy spirit” and enjoy Florence.
For more information visit: www.florenceaz.biz
ARKANSAS
Rodeo of the Ozarks
July
Springdale
Festivities begin with authentic stagecoach rides, good food and entertainment at the Stagecoach Inn one week prior to the rodeo.
The rodeo features two rodeo parades, over 500 contestants and professional athletes competing in six PRCA and WPRA sanctioned events including calf roping, steer wrestling, barrel racing, bareback riding, saddle bronco riding and the popular bull riding.
Other activities include the Old West Film Fest, John Shaddox Wagon Train and Monster Trucks.
For more information visit: www.rodeooftheozarks.org
COLORADO
National Western Stock Show
January
Denver, Colorado
Over a hundred years old, the National Western Stock Show is spread out over sixteen days and 100 acres. And as home to professional rodeos, Mexican rodeo extravaganzas, professional bull-rider events, the Martin Luther King, Jr. African-American Heritage Rodeo, Wild West shows and more, it’s no wonder this is the second largest rodeo in the United States.
With a prep area open to the public, livestock buffs can see rows of cattle, horses, sheep, yaks, llamas, bison and swine being preened for judging. Sporting more than 15,000 head of livestock, the competition for the best in class is heavy with hopefuls.
For more information visit: www.nationalwestern.com
IDAHO
Caldwell Night Rodeo
August
Caldwell
Six times in the past seven years the Caldwell Night Rodeo has been nominated for Large Outdoor Rodeos of the year by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
Originally organized in 1935, the Caldwell Night Rodeo is listed among the top 20 professional rodeos in the nation and attracts more than 40,000 enthusiasts over five nights.
The best professional cowboys in the world make the Caldwell Night Rodeo an annual stop in their schedule. It has been featured on nationwide television and is one of the rodeos listed on the professional rodeo tour.
For more information visit: www.caldwellnightrodeo.com
KANSAS
Dodge City Days
July / August
Dodge City, Kansas
This 10-day celebration of Kansas’ Western heritage attracts more than 100,000 people each year to experience the top-rated Dodge City Days Rodeo with the crowning of Miss Rodeo Kansas and Miss Rodeo Kansas Princess, a two-day craft show featuring more than 200 artists, a professional barbecue contest and western parade, along with many other events and activities.
For more information visit: www.dodgecitydays.com
MONTANA
Wolf Point Wild Horse Stampede
July
Wolfpoint, Montana
Wolf Point Wild Horse Stampede is a three-day event including a PRCA sanctioned rodeo that brings the best cowboys to town. There is a parade each day, along with a carnival, the Human Stampede Run/Walk, the world famous wild horse race, kids' stick-horse rodeo, street dances and cowboy church.
For more information visit: www.wolfpoint.com
NEBRASKA
Nebraska Aland Days
June
North Platte, Nebraska
NEBRASKAland DAYS, the largest event in western Nebraska is a celebration of the state of Nebraska and its heritage.
Complete with top name concerts, parades, athletic contests, food events, micro brew festival, boxing, art shows and rodeos, the event attracts more than 100,000 people to North Platte for 12 action-packed days of fun.
For more information visit: www.nebraskalanddays.com
Nebraska's Big Rodeo
July
Burwell, Nebraska
An annual event in Burwell, Nebraska for more than 86 years, Nebraska’s Big Rodeo held at Burwell’s Rodeo Grounds features seven professional rodeo events, professional rodeo clown acts, motor cycle dare devils, chuck wagon races, chariot races, wild horse race, junior steer riding, bul riding, dinner bell derby, trick riders,and midway.
For more information visit: www.visitburwell.org
NEVADA
National Finals Rodeo
December
Las Vegas, Nevada
Organized by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, the National Finals Rodeo, held at the Thomas & Mack Center at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, is the grand finale of the modern professional rodeo circuit. It has been held in Las Vegas since 1984,
Known as the Super Bowl of Rodeo, this ten-day event puts the talents of the nation's top fifteen money-winners to the test and they compete for championship titles.
Reno Rodeo
June
Reno, Nevada
Billed as the “Wildest, Richest Rodeo in the West!" the 90 year old
Reno Rodeo is now a 10-day event and is a PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) sanctioned sporting event. A nonprofit organization made up over 350 volunteers, the Reno Rodeo is the 4th richest PRCA tour rodeo attracting more than 120,000 fans each year. The rodeo has been nationally televised on CBS Sports, Fox Sports Net, Versus, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Classic.
For more information visit: www.renorodeo.com
NORTH DAKOTA
Mandan Rodeo Days Celebration
July
Downtown Mandan and Dacotah Centennial Park City
Named one of the "Top 100 Events in America" by the North American Bus Tours Association, this annual, three-day PRCA rodeo offers three action-packed professional rodeo performances.
Also featured are Art In the Park, concerts, a carnival, dancing, baseball, pithfork fondue, 10-K and 5-K road races, golf tourney, all class reunion and the biggest and best Fourth of July parade and fireworks celebration in the Northern Plains.
For more information visit: www.mandanrodeo.com
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma State Prison Rodeo
August
Oklahoma State Penitentiary
McAlester
Prisoners join in with the IPRA cowboys for the only “behind the walls” prison rodeo in the country. Featuring inmate cowboys from correctional facilities across Oklahoma and free cowboys from the IPRA, the Oklahoma State Prison Rodeo showcases IPRA steer wrestling, inmate bareback riding and bull riding, IPRA team roping, an inmate wild horse race, IPRA calf roping and more.
The two day event draws up to 15,000 visitors.
For more information visit: www.mcalester.org
OREGON
Pendleton Round-Up
September
Pendleton, Oregon
Drawing more than 50,000 visitors to the heart of Oregon's rodeo country each year, the Pendleton Round-Up is one of the largest rodeos in the country.
Held in Pendleton since 1910, highlights of the event include bareback riding, saddle bronco riding, calf roping, team roping, steer wrestling, barrel racing, steer roping, brahma bull riding, Indian relay races and wild cow milking.
For more information visit: www.pendletonroundup.com
SOUTH DAKOTA
Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo
July
Mitchell, South Dakota
A major event in South Dakota for over 37 years, the Corn Palace Stampeded Rodeo in Mitchell features rodeo performances, rodeo parade, barrell racing, a golf tournament, jackpot team roping, cowboy church service and a Chili Cook-off and Country Music Showdown.
For more information visit: www.cornpalacestampede.com
TEXAS
Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo
March
Houston, Texas
Since the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was established in 1931, it has made an impressive footprint on the livestock and entertainment industries and in the sport of rodeo. Today it is the world’s largest livestock exhibition, world’s largest rodeo and premier entertainment event with no less than 19,000 volunteers who annually contribute their time to take part in what is known as “The heartbeat of the Southwest”.
With a livestock competitions, shopping, food, carnival, action-packed rodeo events and superstars in concert, there is something for the whole family.
For more information visit: www.rodeohouston.com
WASHINGTON
Ellensburg Rodeo
August / September
Ellensburg, Washington
One of the "old rodeos", the Ellensburg Rodeo has earned its place as one of America's Top 25 professional rodeos. Started in 1923 the rodeo has grown from a local competition among ranch hands to the Professional event of today with over 500 contestants and prize money in excess of $250,000! Today's best riders, ropers, and wrestlers compete in what many consider to be the best rodeo arena in the nation.
For more information visit: www.ellensburgrodeo.com
WYOMING
Woodchopper’s Jamboree & Rodeo
June
Encampment, Wyoming
An annual event for over 48 years, the chips fly during Father's Day weekend every year in Encampment as loggers come from all over the country to compete for the title of Rocky Mountain Champion Lumberjack. Using power saws, axes and hand saws, men and women competitors cut down “trees”, chop logs and saw squared wood blocks in half, racing the clock for the fastest time. Cowboys ride bulls and broncs, and the melodrama encourages the audience to get involved.
For more information visit: www.saratogachamber.info
Cody Stampede
July
Cody, Wyoming
An event for 90 years, this major rodeo in Cody, the Rodeo Capital of the World, is a truly Western event that has its roots in ranch contests and games as well as spectacle and drama borrowed from the world famous Wild West shows produced by Col. William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody.
Top cowboys from across the continent come to Cody for the Stampede Rodeo, one of rodeo's crown jewels that contestants often call "Cowboy Christmas".
For more information visit: www.codystampederodeo.com
Cheyenne Frontier Days
July
Cheyenne, Wyoming
A tradition for 113 years and billed as the World’s Largest Outdoor Rodeo & Western Celebration, the Cheyenne Frontier Days is the “Daddy of ‘Em All” Western celebration.
Events include fast-paced professional rodeos, four parades, three free pancake breakfasts, wild horse races, night shows, Indian Village with free Indian dances, carnival midway, and USAF Thunderbird air show.
For more information visit: www.cfdrodeo.com
