CODY, Wyo. (AP) - There are few institutions as ingrained into the local culture as the Cody Nite and Stampede rodeos.
With many restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, what this summer will look like for the two events is anyone’s guess at this point.
“I think everybody is planning and hoping,” said Mike Darby, president of the Cody Stampede Board of Directors.
The 82nd edition of the Nite Rodeo is a fairly likely bet at some point this summer, the Cody Enterprise reports.
“We’re trying to get something to keep people in town for the businesses so they can have a better year than it’s looking like right now,” Darby said.
Right now, it is tentatively scheduled for a June 15 start - 15 days later than the traditional June 1 kickoff. Marc Thompson, a board director, said this start date will allow time for easing of state restrictions.
“That gives us time to enact some safety protocols,” Thompson said. “Making sure we’re keeping everyone safe - contestants, employees and of course all the rodeo fans that will be showing up.”
Typically, the rodeo has had a Park County Night on the first Saturday of the season with reduced ticket prices, but Thompson said it will be delayed.
Health orders and restrictions have been changing on a weekly, if not daily, basis and the board has been doing its best to stay on top of each new development.
Thompson and Darby said they are submitting a list of regulations they plan to enact to Park County public health officer Dr. Aaron Billin.
Thompson and Maury Tate, the operator of Mo Betta Rodeo and stock contractor for Cody Nite Rodeo, said this would include limiting the number of people around the chutes and companions of competitors. Regulations are easy to devise, but enforcement is a much different beast, Tate said.
“(It’s) really just trying to keep people from congregating in a smaller area,” he said.
Concessions and ticketing staff would also be instructed to wear gloves and face masks, Darby said.
If Billin agrees with the proposal, Darby will submit a variance request to State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist.
“We’re working our guts out trying to formulate a plan to be safe, social distance, and especially use all precautions that we can,” Darby said. “I think Dr. Billin is doing one heck of a job.”
Darby and Tate said they handle about 15 calls a day from people with questions and input on this summer’s rodeo.
“We don’t have any answers besides we’re preparing, we want to have a rodeo, and it’s let’s see what we’re allowed to do,” Thompson said.
The Stampede Rodeo already sent a joint letter with other major rodeos in the state and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association to the governor, asking that rodeos be allowed to run with safety precautions in place.
“We feel we’re a vital piece of being able to support local economic income,” Thompson said. “The sooner we can get the rodeo going the better it ties into helping the local businesses.”
Tate has been working directly with the board on these procedures, despite being thousands of miles away in his winter home of Apache, Okla. He said distancing will be key for all involved.
The roughly 5,000 seat Stampede Park usually draws around 1,200 fans on a peak, midsummer night, allowing the potential for social distancing measures to be enacted in the grandstands.
“I think we’ve got plenty of room,” Darby said. “I think people are well aware of the social distancing rules.”
Running a successful rodeo while maintaining safety will be a balancing act, Thompson and Darby said. Contestants may be instructed to stay in their own campers and trailers.
Stampede?
A much hazier picture exists regarding the 101st Cody Stampede PRCA and Xtreme Bulls Tour and Bullfighters Only event scheduled for June 30-July 4.
The pro rodeo events draw many more spectators and competitors than the Nite Rodeo from not only around the country, but also the world. Typically, 2,000 to 5,000 people attend.
“It’s going to be a little challenging to social distance if that’s still in effect,” Darby said.
Running the events costs significant money up front, which necessitates a return on investment. Sponsorships are critical, but if sponsors aren’t convinced that many spectators will show up or be in town, these will be harder to obtain.
Tate said Nite Rodeo ticket sales were high early in the year before the pandemic hit.
“I do think people who are going on vacation are going to come,” Tate said. “I don’t think they’re going to let the coronavirus stop them from doing anything. What we don’t know is how many people are going to go on vacation.”
Thompson and Darby said running the Stampede at a later date like Labor Day weekend may be a consideration and the board is still actively working to make the event happen in some form.
“We are maintaining our flexibility and everything possible,” Darby said.
But with countless people planning their July 4 vacation around the rodeo, the holiday won’t feel the same if the Stampede doesn’t happen then.
“It’s been tradition for people for their whole lives to go to Cody Stampede on the Fourth of July,” Tate said.
As of now, the parade is still on. Tate doesn’t have any specific plans right now, but said if the Stampede doesn’t occur over the Fourth, he will likely plan Nite Rodeo festivities in conjunction with America’s birthday, within state guidelines.
“I would think we would try to make something and make it an event,” Tate said. “Do the same thing we’ve always done on a smaller scale – but ultimately that will be up to the Stampede Board and what they want to do.”
What gives Darby and Thompson some hope for the event is that the Reno Rodeo, held about a week before the Stampede, is still on, along with rodeos in Rapid City, S.D., Prescott, Ariz., Livingston, Mont., and Red Lodge, which are scheduled around the same July 4 time frame. But major rodeos in Greeley, Colo., St. Paul, Minn., and Canadian rodeos in Calgary and Ponoka have already been shuttered.
Darby said the board has been having Zoom conferences with top PRCA officials who have provided encouragement and support for holding the Stampede.
Having the necessary time to set up rodeos after Gov. Mark Gordon and Billin give the green light will be critical for both rodeos. Thompson said all staff is in place, and Tate said he would need as little as a week to get the Nite Rodeo up and running once given the go-ahead.
“Would we be ready? I don’t know. But we’d do it,” he said with a chuckle.
Tate said finding contestants this summer will not be an issue.
“I don’t know that there will be any rodeos in California or Oregon or Washington … in Canada there’s no rodeos,” Tate said.
View from Oklahoma
Tate is still in Oklahoma, doing what he can to prepare for the summer rodeo season.
“That’s the worst part - is not knowing when you can or can’t,” he said. “It’s the uncertainty of all this that’s eating everybody up.”
In a typical year, he said he would be shipping materials to Cody starting next week. Due to the ever-changing nature of the situation, he can’t commit to ordering bulk quantities of horse and bull feed and hay.
“We don’t want to do that because who knows if it’s going to happen, and then we’re sitting on (feed),” he said.
He is also worried about buying timed-event cattle.
“There’s a lot of things like that we’re trying to wait and see and then just try to put it together at the last minute,” he said.
Tate does keep horses in Cody year-round for Nite Rodeo, and said his work force is ready to go, but still hanging in limbo like everyone else. His pick-up men, clown and announcer Ty Rhodes from Arkansas are selected.
“Everybody is eager and itching to go,” Tate said. “It was 101 degrees here yesterday, I’m ready to get started.”
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