{"id":22528,"date":"2025-06-25T01:44:47","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T07:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=22528"},"modified":"2025-06-24T17:50:21","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T23:50:21","slug":"hailey-rodeo-a-hometown-favorite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/25\/hailey-rodeo-a-hometown-favorite\/","title":{"rendered":"Hailey Rodeo \u2013 A Hometown Favorite"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Days Of The Old West\u2019 Festivities Include Three Nights Of Roping And Riding<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

BY Mark Dee<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
Bareback riding event in a previous year of the Hailey \u201cDays of the Old West\u201d Rodeo. Photo credit: Salena Marie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Sawtooth Rangers get back in the saddle from July 2-4 for another running of Hailey\u2019s \u201cDays of the Old West\u201d Rodeo, a Fourth of July tradition dating back nearly 80 years.
\nThis year\u2019s roundup opens with pre-event mutton busting on Wednesday, July 2, and wraps with hometown bull riding after the main competition on July 4. In between, expect three nights of high-end roping and riding\u2014plus some down-home festivities\u2014at the Hailey Rodeo Grounds.
\nPre-show activities start at 6 p.m. nightly, with the main event following at 7:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Packed croud at the Hailey \u201cDays of the Old West\u201d Rodeo. Photo credit: Larry Clark<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tickets aren\u2019t available at the gate but are already open for presale. You can buy them in person at Atkinsons\u2019 grocery stores, or the Hailey Welcome Center; tickets run $12 for adults and $7 for children. Alternatively, head online to www.SawtoothRangers.org and follow the link; digital tickets cost about $5 more than the in-person option.
\nProceeds support the Sawtooth Rangers Riding Club and its local partners, including 4-H, youth rodeo and horsemanship throughout the community.
\nLooking to get your boots dirty? Registration is open online for children\u2019s mutton busting on Wednesday and Thursday, and adult bull riding on Friday. Go online for more information.
\nIs this your first rodeo? No problem. Here\u2019s a primer on the nine events that make up the competition, with insights from the Sawtooth Rangers.<\/p>\n

Bull Riding:<\/strong> The name says it all: Wrap a rope around a bull\u2019s torso, grab the loose end and hang on. Eight seconds earns a score, half determined by the human\u2019s performance and half by the animal\u2019s. \u201cSize, agility and power create a danger that makes bull riding a crowd favorite everywhere,\u201d the Rangers write on their website. \u201cBalance, flexibility, coordination, quick reflexes and, perhaps above all, a strong mental attitude, are the stuff of which good bull riders are made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steer Wrestling:<\/strong> Known as a \u201cbulldogger,\u201d a steer wrestler\u2019s job is to literally take the bull by the horns. From horseback, a cowboy catches the steer, dismounts, and slams the brakes to stop or turn the animal. Then, he pins the 200-plus-pound cow to the ground. Ideally, it all happens fast: The world record stands at 2.4 seconds.<\/p>\n

Saddle Bronc:<\/strong> Based on breaking horses at cattle ranches, saddle bronc is a more technical riding event. Holding a single rein, the cowboy must \u201cmark out\u201d their horse by touching spurs above the animal\u2019s shoulders as it makes its first leap out of the gate. From there, stay in the saddle and keep it smooth: \u201cWhile the bucking ability of the horse is naturally built into the scoring system, a smooth, rhythmic ride is sure to score better than a wild, uncontrolled effort,\u201d the Rangers say.<\/p>\n

Bareback Riding:<\/strong> Bareback does away with a saddle in favor of a minimalist cowhide rigging\u2014basically, \u201ca suitcase handle on a strap,\u201d according to the Rangers. A rider grabs it with one hand, \u201cmarks out\u201d the horse with his spurs and tries to ride for the eight seconds necessary to receive a score. Done right, it looks like the rider is reclining on a bucking bronco. The horse counts for half the points; the rest is up to the cowboy, judged on style, spurring technique, and \u201cexposure\u201d to the strength of the stock.<\/p>\n

Barrel Racing:<\/strong> Usually decided by hundredths of a second, this speed event sees a rider enter the arena at a full sprint and work a clover-leaf pattern around three barrels. The key here is a clean run\u2014it\u2019s a five second penalty to knock over a barrel, sure to take a racer out of the money.<\/p>\n

Tie-down Roping:<\/strong> Giving the calf a head start, the cowboy runs it down on horseback, ropes it, dismounts and ties any three legs together with a \u201cpigging string\u201d\u2014a short loop of rope he holds in his teeth during the first leg. The calf must stay roped for six seconds; if it kicks free, no score is given. This takes place every day out on the ranch\u2014it\u2019s how hands restrain cattle to brand or examine them.<\/p>\n

Breakaway Roping:<\/strong> A relatively new women\u2019s event, breakaway is like tie-down roping without the tying-down. Fixing her lasso to the horn of her saddle with a thin string, she chases down a sprinting calf and throws the loop over its neck. Then, the rider signals the horse to stop; the calf pulls the rope taught, snaps the string, and ends the run. Fastest time wins.<\/p>\n

Team Roping:<\/strong> Working together, two ropers\u2014a header and a heeler\u2014must catch a steer as fast as they can. First, the header throws a line around the head, neck or neck. Then, the heeler gets its two hind feet. (Improper catches incur penalties, and misses are disqualifying.) Once secure, the two horses face each other and pull the line taught to stop the clock. \u201cHeading horses are generally taller and heavier, because they need power to turn the steer after it is roped,\u201d the Rangers said. \u201cHeeling horses are quick and agile, enabling them to better follow the steer and react to its moves.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Days Of The Old West\u2019 Festivities Include Three Nights Of Roping And Riding BY Mark Dee The Sawtooth Rangers get back in the saddle from July 2-4 for another running of Hailey\u2019s \u201cDays of the Old West\u201d Rodeo, a Fourth of July tradition dating back nearly 80 years. This year\u2019s roundup opens with pre-event mutton […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":479,"featured_media":22531,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,72,4,6,78,18,42],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22528","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-blaine-county","8":"category-community","9":"category-entertainment","10":"category-event","11":"category-hailey","12":"category-news","13":"category-sun-valley"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/479"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22528"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22532,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22528\/revisions\/22532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}