ProRodeo Sports News - May 31, 2019

RODEO CENTENNIALS

300 YEARS

Photo courtesy Cody Stampede/Marc Thompson Over the last 100 years the Cody Stampede has seen some of rodeo’s greatest athletes. Pictured above is Ed Scholtz on Bob Cat in 1928.

BY MATT NABER A lot has changed in the last 100 years, but the rodeo action in Cody, Wyo., Reno, Nev., and Belle Fourche, S.D., remains true to their collective 300 years of tradition. s the summer run draws near, three of the biggest rodeos in the summer run are putting the finishing touches on rodeos a century in the making. The Cody Stampede, Reno Rodeo and Black Hills Roundup in Belle Fourche, S.D., all celebrate 100 years of rodeo action this summer. And with the Cody Stampede’s induction to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in August, all three can boast being Hall of Fame rodeos. Cody, Belle Fourche and Reno celebrate 100th anniversaries

CODY STAMPEDE As the Cody Stampede gears up for induction into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, this iconic rodeo just east of Yellowstone National Park is set to celebrate its 100th year of rodeo competition July 1-4 – the height of Cowboy Christmas competition. “It’s endured a WorldWar, the Great Depression and tough times in the U.S., but it’s a credit to the people of this town and to the sponsors who stuck with us through thick and thin, and the rodeo contestants and board members with a lot of dexterity – mentally and physically – and with the resiliency to get the job done,” Cody Stampede Board co-president Mike Darby said. In addition to the traditional rodeo competition and multiple parades, a free Clint Black concert will be held inside the arena June 27. “It’s been in discussion for several years, but the last year has been getting more momentum, and we’ve been finalizing plans with entertainment before the rodeo and photo-ops with contestants and past NFR contestants who were in our rodeo before,” Darby said. “It’s a lot of legwork, and the city stepped up with the police and fire department, and the travel council is putting forth money for a celebration worthy of 100 years.” The Cody Stampede has come a long way from its humble start in 1919. The rodeo won the PRCA’s Best Large Outdoor Rodeo of the Year in 1998 and 1999, and its arena was where many legends of ProRodeo competed frequently throughout their career or even considered it their hometown rodeo. “If you look back 100 years and see what they had to work with, it was amazing,” Darby said. “No arena, no grandstands, electricity wasn’t plentiful, and they didn’t have scoreboards. It kept building for 100 years, and the city had the foresight to move the rodeo from different locations to where it is now. People volunteered to weld the grandstands and donated money and thousands of hours. The town fathers were incredible. It takes your breath away, and I’m glad to be part of it.”

ProRodeo Sports News 5/31/2019

ProRodeo.com

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