War Bonnet Round Up officials share their favorite rodeo events. What’s yours?
Published at | Updated at
IDAHO FALLS — This year marks the 113th edition of the War Bonnet Round Up Rodeo in Idaho Falls.
The weekend-long rodeo kicks off Thursday and will feature a plethora of events, each of which is a favorite of different segments of attendees. But, the question is, what are the events that draw the most excitement from the people who devote their lives to rodeo.
The announcing team consists of three former competitors — Marty Campbell, Kade Rogge and Zack Ekstrom.
Rogge and Ekstrom are both Idaho-born and take a great sense of pride being part of the state’s “oldest professional rodeo.” Campbell, who grew up and began his career in Oregon, takes as much pride in his ability to work the event since an injury ended his rodeo career.
Each obviously has a soft spot in his heart for his former event, but they all have their own personal favorites as announcers.
“I really enjoy the bareback riding,” Campbell said. “I steer wrestled for a long time and still really enjoy watching good steer wrestling, and enjoy talking about steer wrestlers, but there’s something about the bareback riding. … I’ve just always been a fan of it.”
The crowds in attendance, Campbell noted, create a palpable energy for the event, though he did note that, being the first event Thursday, part of that could be the excitement of the rodeo getting started.
“I love the bronc riding,” Rogge added. “I was a bronc rider. Good bucking horses — and I do like the bareback riding — but there’s something about the bronc riding. It’s classic. And I’ve gotten to announce some pretty good ones throughout the years.”
Ekstrom agreed that bronc riding is “hard to beat,” but unlike his fellow announcers he could not pick a single event that gets him especially excited.
“It’s hard to beat a good bronc ride or bareback ride … but since I’ve started announcing, I’ve learned that I’m just a rodeo fan in general,” Ekstrom said.
If you ask him Thursday, his favorite event might be the bareback riding or steer wrestling,” Ekstrome said. Then, in the middle of the event, the former professional calf roper, might tell you his favorite is the calf roping.
“But then, at the end, I’m like, ‘you can’t count out the barrel racing and the bulls,'” he said.
Asked if there was any event that didn’t get them excited, Campbell joked:
“I’m not a big fan of couples figure skating.”
Idaho Falls city spokesman Eric Grossarth took a similar approach to answering as did Ekstrom, saying that the high-paced, action-packed weekend is fun from start to finish. He did note, though, that the War Bonnet boasts a larger field in the lady’s breakaway roping than most other rodeos.
“It’s fast,” Grossarth said. “That’s the thing about rodeo, there’s a lot of action. … And it’s a big show, too. It’s really entertaining.”
The War Bonnet kicked off Thursday afternoon, and will run through Saturday. For information about the event schedules, visit the War Bonnet website — here.
So, what’s your favorite rodeo event? Comment below.