Rodeo de Santa Fe hopes to saddle crowd

One of the signature stops on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s Turquoise Circuit kicks off Wednesday when the 66th annual Rodeo de Santa Fe gets underway on the City Different’s south side. It runs every night through Saturday’s final go ’round. While there’s not much new to this year’s festivities, the underlying theme to the rodeo is that it’s finally doing well on the veritable spreadsheet. That’s what a combination of savvy business planning and good weather can do. Butler cites cooperative weather as one reason that things have gone well lately. The rodeo was traditionally held in early July for years, but moved into June for a few factors — one of which was an attempt to avoid the afternoon thunderstorms that generally hit the state this time of year. “One bad rainstorm in the afternoon can make it a mess for the entire week, but that’s the risk you have to accept when you’re dealing with an outdoor arena,” Butler said. Moving the rodeo to the end of June also keeps it from going head to head with other regional rodeos that force competitors to choose between a trip to Santa Fe and a shot at prize money somewhere else. Next week, for instance, is the popular event in Prescott, Ariz., one billed as the world’s oldest rodeo. There are 466 contestants entered in this year’s rodeo, making it one of the most popular in its history. The usual haunts are back, like saddle bronco riding, team roping, tie down roping, barrel racing, steer wrestling, bareback riding and bull riding. Back for a 46th consecutive year is legendary stock contractor Harry Vold. Every year he supplies the livestock used in this PRCA event. The animals are expected to arrive by the truckload beginning Wednesday morning. One of the additions is a Brahma bull competition. Brahmas are younger, smaller bulls and the event is reserved for kids between the ages of 8 and 12. One of the world’s best is Travis Wimberley, an 11-year-old from Los Lunas. He is expected to take part in this week’s rodeo...more