ND Cowboy Hall of Fame - Stories & Articles

MANDAN RODEO DAYS CELEBRATES 130 YEARS

Mandan Rodeo Days will celebrate its 130th anniversary over the Fourth of July. Billed as the “most fun you can have with your boots on,” this Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA)-sanctioned event will be held July 2, 3 and 4 beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Dacotah Centennial Park.

Besides the standard rodeo events of bareback riding, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, barrel racing, team roping, and bull riding, attractions throughout the celebration include chuck wagon races; trick rider, clown and barrelman John Harrison of Soper, Okla.; and Miss Rodeo Mandan queen and princess pageants. Professional rodeo announcer Tim Fuller of Claremore, Okla., promises to keep fans informed of every buck, kick and jump.

Mandan Rodeo contestants will again compete for nearly $46,000 in added money thanks to support from many generous sponsors. This purse attracts top professional cowboys and cowgirls from the Badlands Circuit of North and South Dakota and across the nation including many Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR) qualifiers.

Rough stock contestants will be matched with nationally acclaimed Mosbrucker Rodeo stock of Mandan including Magic Wars, War Chick, and Silver Moon. These horses took the WNFR by storm in 2007. Magic Wars was also voted the top bareback horse of the 2007 WNFR. Three-time world bareback riding champion Will Lowe rode the horse to win the 10th round with a WNFR record-tying score of 91.5. Five-time world champion Billy Etbauer won the eighth round in the saddle bronc riding aboard War Chick with a score of 88.5. Taos Muncy won the seventh round in the saddle bronc riding on Silver Moon with a score of 87.5 on his way to his first world championship.

The Mandan Rodeo traces its roots to 1879, when local ranchers tested their cowboy talents in an open field during a July 4th celebration that included pony races and a baseball game. Since then, the Mandan Rodeo has seen the likes of Gene Autry, Toots Mansfield, Casey Tibbs, Jim Shoulders, Rex Allen, and many more icons of western culture.

Readers of the Bismarck Tribune for three consecutive years have voted Mandan’s Fourth of July as the area’s best “big event” and “small town festival.” In 2006, the Mandan Rodeo was inducted into the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame. The Mandan Rodeo has previously been listed among the "Top 100 Events in America" by the North American Bus Tours Association and the top 15 events in the state of North Dakota by Governor Hoeven and the N.D. Department of Tourism.

Rodeo tickets will go on sale Memorial Day weekend. Advance tickets are $14 for adults and $8 for kids. Reserved seat tickets are $20 through July 1. General admission tickets to be sold at each rodeo performance are $16 for adults and $9 for kids. A discount will be provided for the July 2 Family Night of $2 off each children’s ticket with purchase of an adult ticket. Children under age six are admitted free of charge.

Stay tuned to www.mandanrodeo.com for ticket sales locations and special deals, a schedule of events, and more information about Mandan Rodeo Days including Art-in-the-Park and the 4th of July Parade.