[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The ever-popular and award-winning Rooftop Rodeo will be celebrating its 90th year of boot-stompin’ cowboy events and one of the great traditions of the American west from Wednesday, July 6, through Monday, July 11, 2016. The Estes Park Rodeo is the highlight of the summer rodeo season. Sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), it features professional cowboys and cowgirls from around the world as well as a mutton bustin’ competition at each performance plus a “cash catch” for young cowpokes 8 to12 years of age on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Location and Events The location every July is in gorgeous Estes Park, Colorado, at the Stanley Park Fairgrounds. It is magnificent with the grandeur and spectacular views of the Rocky Mountains and the Continental Divide. Add to that the family-friendly atmosphere and the small town western hospitality.This colossal experience of the historical sport of rodeo at the Estes Park Rodeo starts off with a Rooftop Rodeo Parade with more than 60 colorful entries. Every night will bring some of the best cowboys and cowgirls performing six different PRCA events and Women’s Professional Barrel Racing. There will be bareback and saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, tie-down roping, team roping, of course the always popular bull riding, and more.
Welcome Miss Rodeo America! We are proud to announce the return of Miss Rodeo America to the Rooftop Rodeo! Katherine Merck of Spokane, WA will be joining us for the week. Her appearance will be sponsored by our newest partner the Greeley Hat Works.
Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, this is America’s rodeo organization that is the highest-paying. It sanctions rodeos in 37 of the U.S. states as well as three Canadian provinces. The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is its championship event. Outstanding awards won by this rodeo include the PRCA’s Small Rodeo of the Year five times, nominations as one of the Top Five Medium Rodeos five times, the 2014 PRCA Mountain States Circuit Medium Rodeo of the Year, and the 2015 Most Improved Rodeo of the Year. The word “rodeo” “Rodeo” was not used in the early days in Estes Park. In advertising back in 1908, it was the “Frontier Days”, a “Wild West Show” and a “Broncho Busting Contest”. It was all part of the Fourth of July-Independence Day celebration with its bronco busting, pie eating, horse racing, and other contests. Media Team and Proceeds Highlighting this Estes Park Rodeo is the team led by the Cowboy Lifestyle Network, the leading online source for everything cowboy and Western-related. It is joined by the Earnhardt Auto Centers Road Team and the Ak-Chin Indian Community. The proceeds from these events go toward the annual Youth Scholarship of the Estes Park Western Heritage along with the Rooftop Rodeo performances themselves and the Rooftop Rodeo Royalty.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”27253″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” >
Peter Varlet’s the cowboy critic you love to hate, until he’s right. Born during a thunderstorm in 1972 in Bismarck, North Dakota, he grew up watching his WWII vet dad battle to save their farm from corporate claws. Now, Peter’s the unapologetic voice of Western culture, with a historian’s grip on America’s past, acknowledging both its heroes and hypocrites. His truth to power articles are a no-holds-barred zone for rodeo reviews, cowboy movie takedowns, and ranching tricks that work. He’ll tell you why your country singer’s a fraud and how to fix a fence with only baling wire and spite. Peter despises corporate factory farms taking over and cherishes the DIY grit of real Americans. Politically correct? Nope. Trustworthy? Damn straight. He’s saving the West, one brutal truth at a time.
