By
The Sparks Tribune
Following five days of being in the High Desert, a herd of cattle and a group of cowboys and cowgirls rode into town Thursday to welcome in the 2018 Reno Rodeo. After the buckaroos kept 300 rodeo steers in line through the paved streets of Reno, the rest of the action took place at the Livestock Events Center with the Reno Rodeo Carnival, Xtreme Bull Riding, and Mutton Bustin- a crowd favorite.
Throughout the rest of the weekend, rodeo fans enjoyed bareback horse riding shows, businessman steer decorating, saddle bronc, steer wrestling, team roping, and WPRA Women’s Barrel Racing. On Father’s Day, younger ones could participate in a special kids’ rodeo that helped educate them on agriculture, safety, and western-style of living.
However, the fun is not over yet- there is a lot more to come to finish off these action-packed 10 days. June 20-23 the Reno Rodeo is hosting themed nights including Nevada Wolf Pack Night (Wednesday), Coors Night (Thursday), and the Tough Enough to Wear Pink Night (Friday), ending with the Wrangler Gold Tour on Saturday.
New this year, the Riata Ranch Cowboy Girls are wowing fans by performing incredible stunts on horseback that include trick roping and trick riding, what they learned in the Riata Ranch Youth Horsemanship Clinics.
The 99th annual Reno Rodeo has also welcomed professional bullfighters Cody Webster and Dusty Tuckness, impressing crowds with distracting bulls away from the riders who’ve been bucked off or dismounted. Tuckness has earned PRCA’s Bullfighter of the Year award seven times while Webster has been named the National Finals Rodeo Bullfighter five times, his most recent award in 2017.
The Rodeo also recently brought in the Wild Pony Races. For three days last weekend, 12 kids’ ages 8-14 years old worked together in teams to rope and halter the ponies while their fellow teammates mounted and rode the ponies. The teams with the longest ride were deemed the winners.
The “Wildest Richest Rodeo in the West” wraps up with free admission on June 22-23 to the Junior NFR Qualifier in team roping, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, and barrel racing. This is the first time that the Junior NFR Qualifier is being held in Reno with results to be included in December’s Junior National Finals Rodeo to be held in Las Vegas.
Now in its 99th year, this Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) sanctioned event is considered one of the top five rodeos in the US. As a nonprofit organization, the Reno Rodeo is made possible through its thousand volunteers. The 2018 Reno Rodeo concludes with the PRCA Pro Finals on Saturday evening, June 23 in the Livestock Events Center Outdoor Arena.
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