81st annual Will Rogers Range Riders Rodeo takes place Thursday through Saturday
The 81st annual Will Rogers Range Riders Rodeo will begin on Thursday and run through Saturday, July 2. The rodeo events begin at 7:30 p.m. each night at 8829 FM Road 1541.
Tickets for the rodeo can be purchased on the website rodeoticket.com and at the gate.
Tickets purchased prior to the event are $15 per person ages 13 or older, or $20 at the gate. Weekend passes can be purchased for $45. Those 12 and younger get in free.
Thursday night will be veterans and first responders night. During this night, veterans and first responders will be honored and receive a discount on their tickets.
Friday night will be Pink night for breast cancer awareness.
"We are going to have some exciting, cool events," Cody Busby, Will Rogers Range Riders Rodeo chairman, said.
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With the purchase of the rodeo ticket also comes live performances. Thursday night's performance will feature Jack Cryver. Friday's performance will be by Seth Ward and the Silence, and Saturday will have a performance by the Tejas Brothers.
Muttin Bustin will begin at 6:30 p.m. every night. There will be 10 riders competing each night, and they can sign up to enter at 6 p.m., with a $25 fee per rider. This event is where contestants who are 55 pounds and under ride the sheep.
The United Professional Rodeo Association (UPRA) events will run Thursday through Saturday, according to an event flier.
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Ten youth riders from the area have been invited to participate in roping on Thursday night. There will be 10 youth barrel racers Friday night for 12 and younger. On Saturday, two local calf ropers will be matched who are 12 and younger.
The Will Rogers Range Riders is the oldest continually operating club in the United States. The club was commemorated by the city of Amarillo on July 4, 1938, with the opening of the Will Rogers Memorial Highway US 66. Later that year, a group of businessmen became dedicated to forming a riding club in the city where they could enjoy their same interests in horses.
The club includes more than 100 members with a wide variety of different occupations — everything from doctors and lawyers to writers and contractors.
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According to the Will Rogers Range Riders website, this rodeo is the second largest amateur rodeo in the Tri-State area and attracts more than 300 contestants from across five different states. The rodeo happens annually over the Fourth of July weekend.
While none of the original members are still active, many members have been in the club for more than 20 years with the original traditions upheld.
All of the funds raised from this weekend's event will go back into the Range Riders Rodeo, and all are welcome to attend.
There will be a concession stand at the event.
For more information, call call 806-584-0733 or visit the Will Rogers Range Riders website at https://wrrangeriders.com/ .
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: 81st annual Will Rogers Range Riders Rodeo to run June 30 to July 2
