The Ellensburg Rodeo opens every
Labor Day
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
weekend along with the
Kittitas County
Kittitas County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. At the 2020 census, its population was 44,337. Its county seat and largest city is Ellensburg. The county was created in November 1883 when it was carved out of Yakima Coun ...
Fair in
Ellensburg, Washington
Ellensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It is located just east of the Cascade Range near the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 82
Interstate 82 (I-82) is an Interstate Highway in th ...
. Started in 1923, the Ellensburg Rodeo has grown from a local competition among ranch hands to the Professional event of today with over 500 contestants and prize money in excess of $250,000. Within the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
, the Ellensburg Rodeo is second in size only to the
Calgary Stampede
The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and featu ...
in
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, and is considered to be one of America's top 25 rodeos. The Ellensburg Rodeo was inducted to the
ProRodeo Hall of Fame
The ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy was opened in August 1979 as a museum designed to "preserve the legacy of the cowboy contests, the heritage and culture of those original competitions, and the champions of the past, pr ...
in 2020.
The rodeo went on hiatus from 1942 to 1944 and 2020.
Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame
See also
*
Rodeo
Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...
*
List of Rodeos
There are thousands of rodeos held worldwide each year. Here are a few you might like, such as the Carbondale Wild West Rodeo, in Carbondale, Colorado.
Australia
New South Wales
* Sydney Royal Easter Show holds rodeo events during the show.
* ...
*
Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States and Canada, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the National F ...
*
ProRodeo Hall of Fame
The ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy was opened in August 1979 as a museum designed to "preserve the legacy of the cowboy contests, the heritage and culture of those original competitions, and the champions of the past, pr ...
*
Dan Collins Taylor
References
External links
OfficialSite
Tourist attractions in Kittitas County, Washington
ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees
Rodeos
{{sport-event-stub