Cody Stampede And Nite Rodeo Are A Go!

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon made a statement that the Cody Stampede would be one of six major rodeos in the Cowboy State canceled due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. Despite this announcement, the Cody Stampede board confirmed that the town will, in fact, host its 101st Stampede over the Fourth of July. However, the June 30 Xtreme Bulls event will not take place.

In a press release, the board stated, “the Rodeo Task Force that worked with the Governor made a decision as a group to cancel major rodeos this summer. However, our Board operates independently from that special task force, and their decisions are not reflective of our position.”

Since this press release, it has been announced that the Cody Nite Rodeo and the Cody Stampede are back on, with a few changes.

The Cody Nite Rodeo:

The Nite Rodeo was pushed back to a June 15 start but is now set for June 20 with a limited number of 600 fans allowed to attend.

“We will be operating under our approved exception to the Wyoming State Health orders and the permitted limits placed on outdoor crowd size to help support the health of all involved with the Cody Nite Rodeo,” stated the board.

The Cody Stampede:

The Cody Stampede PRCA Rodeo will be held on the dates of July 1-4, 2020.

The press release stated, “making plans to hold our 101st Annual Stampede Rodeo has been an ongoing and complicated process. As always, our goal is to showcase the best rodeo possible over our Independence Day celebration.”

“Due to financial considerations, we had to make some adjustments to our format and reduce some of our costs and contestant added money. As a result, we are unable to host our combined ‘Xtreme Bulls’ and ‘Bullfighters Only’ event this year. We are still having four performances, each consisting of a full rodeo, instead of our recent standard of five rodeos that included a bulls-only event.

We are thrilled to offer, for our first time in history, an additional professional ladies’ event—breakaway roping. This will be in addition to barrel racing. Also, every Stampede performance will feature some of the very the best in the business, including the following Stampede rodeo team members: 7 time Clown/Barrelman of the Year, Justin Rumford; 10 Time PRCA Bullfighter of the Year Dusty Tuckness; Stock Contractor of the Year, Frontier Rodeo; 4 time Announcer of the Year, Boyd Polhamus; and Specialty Act Haley Proctor.

The amount of available tickets for purchase will be limited due to the restrictions set forth by the State’s exemption request currently in effect, or as otherwise adjusted by the Wyoming Department of Health.”

Tickets for the Stampede will go on sale on June 8, 2020.

All information courtesy of the Cody Stampede Board of Directors.