Idaho’s oldest rodeo kicks off this week
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IDAHO FALLS — It’s showtime! Now is the time to round up families and friends to watch bullfighters and bucking bulls in the rodeo arena this weekend.
The War Bonnet Round Up is Idaho’s oldest rodeo and is in Idaho Falls this week. This is the 110th year. It will be held from Thursday through Saturday at the Sandy Downs Arena.
More than 450 cowboys and cowgirls compete each summer in front of more than 15,000 rodeo enthusiasts.
“We put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into that arena just to make it perfect. We try to,” said Jacob Williams, a maintenance operator for the War Bonnet Round Up.
Williams said that he has been out with his team cleaning the arena and prepping it for several months. They even have volunteers that go out in the arena and pick up and remove all the rocks and pebbles from the dirt, making sure the ground is flawless for the performers and animals.
The War Bonnet won an award in 2019 for the best dirt in the wilderness circuit. The award is given for the rodeo that has the safest, most consistent ground possible for barrel horses and rodeo livestock.
“We take a lot of pride in it,” said Williams.
In addition, there are new features that were added in the arena to make the entertainment stand out.
“We just recently updated all of our lighting in the whole arena. We got LED lights, and it is lit up like you wouldn’t believe. It’s really something to look at night,” said Jeff Moad, a maintenance operator for the War Bonnet Round Up.
The animals were brought in recently to the arena and have been prepping for the rodeo.
“The horses get 7 pounds of grain a day and about 30 pounds of alfalfa, and the bulls get 12 to 15 pounds of grains a day and about 30 pounds of alfalfa, and we got fresh water in front of them. These animals, they are not young. They get acclimated to the rodeo life. They know when it’s time when we get them wiggled down to the smaller pens for the events at night. They know it’s go time. And when they are back in their big pens, they are just chilling with all of their buddies, they are just relaxed and just being animals and just being horses or bulls,” said TJ Korkow, primary stock contractor at the War Bonnet Round Up.
Organizers hope there will be big crowds to come and support the rodeo this year, since it had to be canceled last year due to COVID-19.
“This is the best rodeo in the United States,” said Moad.
Gates open each night at 4:30 p.m. with pre-rodeo events at 6 and the PRCA rodeo at 7.
War Bonnet Round Up tickets for children 3 to 10 are $10. Children 2 and under are free. Tickets for Thursday and Friday are $20 and Saturday is $25. Military and veteran discounts are available. Prices are for tickets bought in advance. Ticket sales at the gate will have an additional cost.
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