PRORODEO Sports News - July 2, 2026

Celebrating 97 years of riding and roping the Red Lodge: Home of Champi ons Rodeo conducts its Independence Day parade each year at the base of the Beartooth Mountains, where the Carbon County foothills compress into a village of Victorian storefronts and genuine Western character. PRCA photo by Phill Kitts

The 2023 ProRodeo Hall of Fame committee hosts PRCA contestants every Saturday night from Memorial Day to the end of September, with a Rank 45 Xtreme Bulls Series event for good measure in August. But Independence Day still holds a special place in Cowtown’s calendar, especially ahead of the semiquincen tennial. “Rodeo is the last big Americana sport that’s out there,” committee member Robert Griscom said. “They get to feel a lot more involved (as fans), and the contestants reflect about it a lot more than most sports do. For us, it’s a little bit different compared to some other rodeos since we’re on the East Coast and we’re a little spoiled having rodeos every weekend. “But our fans, they don’t get more riled up than when the American flag comes out. They’re really big with us and our Americana for sure.” Griscom said there’s a different en ergy in the arena and throughout the grandstands on Independence Day. “You start hearing the chants and feel a little more like you’re doing something right for fans, spectators and contestants,” Griscom said. “It’s the best thing that we can do to try and remember 250 years. “I’m in my 40s, so I didn’t really get to live a lot of what these older folks have, but they really appreciate anything that we can possibly do for them.” ST. PAUL RODEO, ST. PAUL, ORE. The St. Paul Rodeo website proud ly states in large font that it’s “The nation’s greatest 4th of July Rodeo.” The committee takes that moniker seriously.

Prescott’s year-long celebration of the nation’s birthday kicked off in 2025 with the “Two Lights for To morrow” event at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix. At the event on April 18, 2025, a former World’s Oldest Rodeo queen helped reenact Paul Revere’s ride on the same night 250 years earlier from Boston to Lexington, Mass., to warn patriots of British advances by signaling the hanging of two lanterns in the steeple of the Old North Church and shouting the verbal warning, “The British are coming” along the way. “We kicked that off more than a year ago and we’ve been staying with that momentum,” Brown said. “This year, we have commemorative buckles and we’re celebrating 250 years of freedom. We’re sticking with that theme.” The conclusion of each perfor mance on the final weekend in Prescott will feature a special per formance from PRCA specialty acts Rider and Bethany Kiesner. On the night of Independence Day – the penultimate night of PRORO DEO action in Prescott – is Military Appreciation Day. During the two performances, the committee will honor veterans and active-duty mili tary members. “At Prescott, we’re celebrating 139 years this year, and of course, coin ciding with 250 years of America,” Brown said. “It’s just really exciting to get ready for it.” COWTOWN RODEO, WOODSTOWN PILESGROVE, N.J. For the Cowtown Rodeo in Wood stown Pilesgrove, N.J., the Fourth of July falls in the middle of a busy summer.

anniversary of the signing of the Dec laration of Independence. This season, more than two dozen rodeos will fly a flag, hold a prayer and sing the National Anthem before PRORODEO cowboys rope and ride in front of enthusiastic crowds of pa triots on the semiquincentennial. Four of them, the Home of Cham pions Rodeo in Red Lodge, Mont., Cowtown Rodeo in Woodstown Pilesgrove, N.J., St. Paul (Ore.) Rodeo and World’s Oldest Rodeo in Prescott, Ariz., shared how they’re going above and beyond to celebrate America’s 250th birthday at their rodeos on the Fourth of July. WORLD’S OLDEST RODEO, PRESCOTT, ARIZ. At the end of each year, the World’s Oldest Rodeo in Prescott, Ariz., chooses a theme for its upcoming event. This year, the decision was easy. The committee chose, ‘Celebrating 250 Years of Freedom.’ “Obviously, we’re going to lean heavily on the red, white and blue,” World’s Oldest Rodeo General Manager Jim Dewey Brown said. “Prescott, being a Fourth of July rodeo, has always had that Americana feel to it. But this is an opportunity to really throw up some extra bunting and Star Spangled Banners. We really try to stick with the theme and move forward that way.”

July 2, 2026 PRORODEO SPORTS NEWS DIGITAL MAGAZINE 7