When you think of “rodeo” you probably think of boots in the dirt, bucking bulls, pretty cowgirls on fast horses, and the “Lights, camera, ACTION!” mentality that goes along with the big show. Most casual rodeo fans, or even those that are a bit more serious, probably think about the large professional rodeos that come to town, handing out thousands of dollars to winners, or even the Super Bowl of them all - the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. 

If you think about it, these rodeos aren’t the backbone of the rodeo industry. The backbone of today’s rodeo industry are the local rodeos that are usually regionally sanctioned or in a simple jackpot format. These rodeos are the affordable league for the everyday nine to five worker and an opportunity to build up to be tomorrow’s world champions! 

For the sport of rodeo to thrive and survive, it is important for these rodeos to sustain and continue to be an integral part of their communities. Local rodeos not only help younger contestants practice in a variety of scenarios, training them for the next level, but it also helps communities who may be trending away from rural life to stay involved, informed and educated on the amazing animal welfare that goes along with today’s rodeo. 

You might be asking yourself, “How can I give back to my local rodeo?” There are five easy ways that you can assist your rodeo, both physically and financially, to ensure the continued success of your local rodeo and the subsequent western lifestyle it encourages.

Donate

A sponsorship for your local rodeo not only helps you in shopping local, it can also be a tax write-off if your rodeo committee is set up accordingly. The amount of visibility and good will that a sponsored flag, bucking chute, fence banner, in gate or out gate has will leave an impression on a demographic inclined towards rural lifestyle, construction, hobby gardening and animals. 

 

An event sponsorship can be made more involved by helping generate goodwill with patrons or employees. With most rodeo sponsorships, free tickets to the event are common and can be a great resource as a reward to employees to take their families. Rodeo, unlike most mainstream sports, is unique because it provides a variety of events meaning that there is a little bit of something for everyone in the family. 

The sponsorship can also create content for your website, mailings, and email blasts. Announcing the winner of the event with a photo of your staff in the arena, is sure to create clickable grabs to encourage patrons and potential patrons to visit your website.

Volunteer

Nothing is more valuable than your time! Rodeo committees are made up of tens to hundreds of volunteers and volunteer man hours to ensure that the rodeo is ready to go. Involvement with your rodeo can be handling gates, stock, and personnel at the rodeo. 

 

If you aren’t involved with livestock, there is plenty that you can be involved with prior to the rodeo, such as: 

• Gaining Sponsorships

• Representation in the Community

• Assisting with the Rodeo Queen Pageant

• Assisting in Marketing

• Helping Volunteer at Community Outreach Events

• Working the Arena Footing

• Grandstand Maintenance

• Food Booth Management

• Vendor Management

There is a variety of opportunities to use your already well built community relationships to help promote the western lifestyle. Whether it is sharing content to your online community through social media platforms or by manually hanging flyers around town; whatever you can do to help spread the word is VALUED! 

Show Up

Even if you aren’t able to spend time volunteering or money donating to your local rodeo, simply gathering a few close friends and buying tickets to attend can help. Every dollar counts and every seat that is filled matters when it comes to the future of the rodeo. Being an educated rodeo fan is also important, as we have all been in a situation where we had to explain parts of the rodeo that the announcer may or may not cover. Helping to break down the urban-rural divide in the sport of the west is a small step you can do to help educate the community and support your local rodeo. 

 

Western Insights Media

Katie Schrock