Lander’s Pioneer Days Rodeo

JULY 3-4

Fremont Toyota Pioneer Days Rodeo

Lander, Wyoming

Presale Tickets: Adult $13 | Kids(6-12) $8
Purchase presale tickets for a chance to win $50 each night!

Tickets At Gate: Adult $15 | Kids (6-12) $10

Buy Tickets!

Rodeo Sponsors: 2023 Sponsors

Entry Information:

Enter June 24th, 12pm - 5pm

Use the LOTRA website or call 307-349-8070, 307-349-8108, or 307-349-1981 to enter. 

Only 10-12 entries per category will be allowed in the performance. All others will be in slack as drawn.

Roughstock Events

  • Bull Riding
  • JR Bull Riding Ages 8-14, 125 wt limit - limited to 10 riders per night
  • Saddle Bronc
  • Bareback
  • Ranch Bronc Riding

 

Timed Events

  • Ladies Barrels
  • Calf Roping
  • Ladies Breakaway
  • Steer Wrestling
  • Open Team Roping
  • Mixed Team Roping
  • Businessmen's Ribbon Roping
  • Indian Relays
  • Junior Barrels

Don't Miss The Fireworks!

July 4th

10:00 pm

Make sure to stick around for the fireworks show put on by the Lander Rural Fire Dept.

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"THE GRANDDADDY OF 'EM ALL" DATES TO 1894

Lander, Wyoming's Pioneer Days Rodeo pre-dates Cheyenne Frontier Days by three years. It began in 1894 and was held three miles south of Lander on the Bill O'Neal ranch. It consisted of a ten-mile relay race with three teams. Each team consisted of five horses, and each horse alternating had to run two miles.  Participants included Bob Gaylord, Lish Hinton, and Jack Rogers. Hinton, who was a well-known cowboy in the area, won the race.

For a while, early rodeos were held on the Lamoreaux ranch on the hill above Lander (Jules Lamoreaux's home was located on the approximate site of where Western Printing now stands) and were often run by Lamoreaux's son-in-law, Ed Farlow. Farlow later built a grandstand and a half-mile track on his place in West Lander around 1900 (close to the site of the new Middle School on North 8th Street). A handy pocket-sized guide to the "goings-on" was published in 1902 by the Palace Pharmacy-the winner of the bucking broncho contest was to receive a $125 Lander-made silver-mounted saddle. Ed Farlow was the main promoter of the rodeo, along with his sons Jules and Albert "Stub". Stub became a well-known bronc rider and is thought to have provided the inspiration for the cowboy on the bucking horse on Wyoming license plates. By 1912 the celebration was known as "Rocky Mountain Round-Up Days" and was called that for several years. Clayton Danks, among some of the few men along with Stub who rode the legendary bronc Steamboat, was specializing that year in bulldogging--he later served as Fremont County Sheriff from 1936-50. For many years the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Tribes put on dances at Third and Main Street and, in 1916, staged a sham battle. In 1920 the rodeo grounds were moved to the George Wroe ranch  (close to where the current Lander Valley High School, Pioneer Museum, and Museum of the American West now stand).

A larger grandstand accommodated the crowd in 1925 and they were treated to a range cow milking contest, cowgirl chair race, and goat roping contest. Fifty members of the Ute tribe joined up with the Shoshone and Arapaho Tribes and made up three tent cities around town. Former area cowboy and new silent screen film star, Colonel Tim McCoy, came to visit the Tribes. There were several times the local Tribes "saved the day" for the celebration--in 1932, during the Great Depression, locals seriously considered not having a celebration. The two Tribes pitched in and offered to put on the entire celebration.  In 1934 things were looking up, and the largest crowd in four years turned up. Leona (Robinson) Bybee was selected Miss Lander and this was the first year the rodeo was held at the current rodeo grounds.

In November 1934, the Pioneer Days Show was adopted by the Chamber of Commerce, and the organization called for nine directors and was incorporated. Rough times came again during World War II and it looked like the celebration would not be held, but again 200 members of the Shoshone and Arapaho Tribes helped put on the 4th of July parade and rodeo. Each year, Ed Farlow, patriarch of the Pioneer Days rodeo and celebration, continued to participate in some way - he made his last appearance in the parade of 1950 and passed away at the age of 90 in April 1951.

The Lander Pioneer Days rodeo has continued over the years in the location on the hill above Lander, where it has been for over 80 years. The rodeo saw its 121st year in 2014 and continues to be a hallmark of the days when Lander was known as the place "where rails end and trails begin." The rails are gone, but the trails, cowboys, and rodeo remain going strong.

Pioneer Days Rodeo Events

Categories:
  • Tie Down Calf Roping

    Tie Down Calf Roping

    As with saddle bronc riding and team roping, the roots of tie-down roping can be traced back to the working…

  • Team Roping

    Team Roping

    Team roping requires close cooperation and timing between two highly skilled ropers - a header and a heeler - and…

  • Steer Wrestling

    Steer Wrestling

    The objective of the steer wrestler, who is also known as a "bulldogger," is to use strength and technique to…

  • Saddle Bronc

    Saddle Bronc

    Saddle bronc riding evolved from the task of breaking and training horses to work the cattle ranches of the Old…

  • Mixed Team Roping

    Mixed Team Roping

    Team Roping is a true team effort. There are two riders, a header and a healer. The header first ropes…

  • Ladies Breakaway Roping

    Ladies Breakaway Roping

    Breakaway roping is a variation of calf roping where a calf is roped, but not thrown and tied. It is…

  • Jr. Bull Riding

    Jr. Bull Riding

    Using smaller animals for the first time tikes testing the waters of competition, Jr. Bull Riding is available for all…

  • Indian Relay

    Indian Relay

    This event is one of the wildest, most colorful events in all of equine sports. This event is a long…

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