‘Working cowboys’ return in Ride for the Brand Rodeo at Penrose July 2
For the third straight year Saturday evening, July 2, Penrose Stadium will host the Ride for the Brand Rodeo.
Preceded July 1 by a noon “cattle drive” through downtown Colorado Springs, the July 2 rodeo will feature 100 working cowboys from 24 ranches in 9 Western states, according to Kathleen Collins of Ride for the Brand Productions. They will represent their ranches in events typical of the tasks they perform - wild cow milking, trail er loading, team sorting, team branding, team doctoring and ranch bronc riding. Returning as the emcee on horseback will be well-known cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell, who also runs a ranch in Elko, Nev. “With the cowboys we've got coming, we have the potential of making this the most exciting rodeo you'll ever see,” he commented in a recent phone interview. The rodeo competition is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m., following a 5 p.m. concert by Mitchell, Don “America's #1 cowboy balladeer” Edwards and yodeling cowboy Sourdough Slim. The location is the Norris-Penrose Events Center (formerly called the Penrose Equestrian Center) off Rio Grande Street between 8th and 21st streets. General admission is $15 for adults and $5 for children ages 2-12. Box and loge seats are $25. Tickets will be available at the gate starting at 4 p.m. or in advance at a variety of area outlets. Receiving a special award during the event will be Robert Norris, owner of the T Cross Ranches between Colorado Springs and Pueblo. Norris' philanthropy resulted in the facility's name change this spring to Norris-Penrose Events Center. Sorting is a new event this year, in which a three-man team on horseback tries to sort as many numbered cattle as possible (up to five) within two minutes. The rodeo is one of 22 scheduled this year by the Working Ranch Cowboys Association (WRCA). The annual championship finals will be this November in Amarillo, Texas. After expenses, WRCA proceeds from the event (chiefly from sales of promotional items) go to a fund to help working cowboys' with crises or scholarships, while Ride for the Brand proceeds (from ticket sales) will go to the Latigo Trails Heritage Centre, which Collins said is like a “community center” for horse-riding folk. Westside Pioneer article from press release |