Snowmass Village, Colo., (June 16, 2021) – The Snowmass Rodeo returns for the 47^th season this summer. One of the longest running rodeos in Colorado, the Snowmass Rodeo occurs every Wednesday, rain or shine, from June 23-August 18, 2021. The true Colorado Western experience includes competitions such as Saddle Bronc and Bull Riding, Team Roping, and Barrel Racing. Children can participate in the Calf Scramble and Mutton Busting events.

“We are so thrilled to bring the Rodeo back to Snowmass this summer,” says Darce Vold, Executive Director, SWHA. “The Rodeo means so much to us and to the Snowmass Community. We were remiss not to have it last year, but summer 2021 is going to be better than ever.”

The Snowmass Rodeo takes place at the Snowmass Rodeo Grounds. Rodeo tickets are available at the gate or online. Tickets ordered online may be picked up at Will Call. 2021 pricing: Adults $25/Children $10. Rodeo arena gates open at 5:00pm. Pre-rodeo activities include chicken poop bingo, a petting zoo, and kids roping, mechanical bull ridesa cowboy saloon, and a BBQ dinner. The rodeo begins promptly at 7:00pm.

In accordance with health and safety protocols, the venue may look slightly different from years past. Masks are not required in the outdoor venue, but they remain required on RFTA and TOSV Shuttles. Please stay home if sick. The Rodeo will offer refunds or transfers to a different evening.

Professional Rodeo Activity Descriptions:

• Bareback Riding – While simplistic in equipment, bareback riding is trickier than it looks. Not only are the horses powerful, but the riders must be in excellent physical shape to stay aboard during the eight-second ride. With nothing to hold but a suitcase-like handle, the cowboy must maintain balance and remain controlled and coordinated with the horse’s motion throughout the ride.
• Barrel Racing – Three barrels, one horse, and one woman, barrel racing is simplistic and graceful. The rider must race around the barrels set in a cloverleaf pattern, while making sure not to knock any over, all while staying within the time limit. The sport is timed to the hundredth of a second.
• Bull Riding – Riders climb on the back of a 2,000-pound bull before it explodes from a gate with one thing on this mind: to get the rider off his back. To stay aboard the bull, the rider grasps a flat braided rope, which is wrapped around the bull’s chest, just behind its front legs and over the withers. With a nod of his head, the gate is flung open and the bull bounds into the arena. While this is the most dangerous event in rodeo, it involves the least amount of rules. Riders must stay on for eight seconds while refraining from touching themselves or the bull with their free hand.
• Saddle Bronc Riding – Saddle Bronc Riding is known as “rodeo’s classic event.” It derived from the practice of breaking saddle horses, but evolved into an event that combines strength, style, grace, and rhythm. The contestant sits in a saddle with no saddle horn at the front. For support, the rider holds a thick rein, which can only be held with one hand. When the gate swings open, every move the rider makes is an effort to remain synchronized with the horse’s movements. If the rider touches any part of the horse or himself with his free hand or bucks off before the eight-second whistle, he is disqualified.
• Team Roping – Partnership, precise timing, and anticipation – this is what team roping is about. Between header and heeler, this is the only true team event in rodeo. Both contestants begin in their respective “boxes” on either side of the chute containing the steer. Once the steer has received its head start out of the chute, the header takes off in pursuit of the steer, roping it around the horns, then turns the steer quickly to the left so the heeler has a shot at its hind legs. The fastest time wins.
• Dally Ribbon Roping – Dally Ribbon Roping is a team event. The roper starts in the roping box to the calf’s right. When he or she calls for the calf to be released, the horseback rider chases it down the arena in an attempt to rope it. After the catch is made, the roper dallies his or her roper around the saddle horse and stops the calf for the runner, who is waiting on foot in the arena for the catch. The runner must run to the calf, collect the ribbon hanging from the calf’s tail, and run it back to the box from which the roper started, as quickly as possible. The team consists of a roper and a runner and the team must consist of one male and one female contestant. Any child under 13 years of age may enter the event.

In addition to professional rodeo activities, the Snowmass Rodeo offers events and activities for guests to participate in as well.

• Calf Scramble – Children between the ages of 4 and 10 line up in the arena while calves with ribbons on their tails are released from their pens. The objective is to grab a ribbon or any part of that ribbon off a calf’s tail and return it to the Arena Official. Once all the ribbons have been removed from the calves’ tails, the contest is over. All participants receive a prize and the winners get trophies.
• Mutton Bustin’ – Little buckaroos “cowboy up” and hold on to a woolly sheep for eight exciting seconds. Participation is limited to boys and girls between the ages of 4 and 7, weighing less than 50 lbs.
• Burro Racing – Burro racing is a crowd participation event, requiring three teams of three. Three burros are lined up with one person riding on the burro, one person pulling on a lead rope, and one person pushing the burro. The first team of three to get their burro around the barrel and across the finish line wins.
• Chicken Poop Bingo – Place a bet on an oversized bingo board. Whichever square the chicken poops on, the winner takes the pot, splitting it half and half with the Snowmass Rodeo.

For more information on the Snowmass Rodeo or to purchase tickets visit: snowmassrodeo.org. Click here for video of the rodeo and click here for the Kid’s Guide to the Snowmass Rodeo.

About Snowmass Village, Colorado – A renowned winter playground and vibrant summer community just 9 miles from Aspen, Snowmass consistently ranks as one of the best winter ski areas and summer mountain biking destinations in the world. Ski Magazine named Aspen Snowmass the #1 “resort of the year” in the West in 2020, and Snowmass, along with the rest of the Roaring Fork Valley, is the first IMBA (International Mountain Biking Association) Gold-Level Ride Center™ in Colorado, only the 5^th in United States, and the 7^th in the world. Snowmass offers guests incredible views of mountain vistas, in addition to 2.8 million adjacent acres of wilderness, open for activities and exploration. Snowmass is home to 30+ restaurants, 95 percent slopeside lodging, shopping, unique special events and music – all year round. For more information and a complete calendar of events and activities, please visit www.gosnowmass.com.

Snowmass Tourism Media Contact: Sara Stookey Sanchez, Public Relations Manager, Snowmass Tourism, 970-922-2285 or sstookey@gosnowmass.com.

Snowmass Rodeo Contact:  Darce Vold, SWHA Executive Director, darcevold@snowmassrodeo.org

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