By Kate Bartlett
Not only is the holiday weekend host to the Ellicottville Summer Music Festival, but the 4th of July weekend also kicks off rodeo season, known as Cowboy Christmas, with the Ellicottville Championship Rodeo. Cowboys and cowgirls travel form around the world to compete in the largest IPRA (International Professional Rodeo Association) sanctioned Rodeo in the northeast. The Ellicottville Championship Rodeo invites you to come out and enjoy this family tradition as you step back in time to wild and western non-stop action in the beautiful Enchanted Mountains that surround Ellicottville….” where the road ends and the west begins.”
John and Karen Kent have been hosting the rodeo on their family farm since 1989. It all started with their riding stable, where they rented horses to the public. “People had such a good time, they wanted more. I got the idea to have a rodeo, and people we rented horses to volunteered to help. They worked in the kitchen serving up the food, we had the farm plowed, set up an arena, and it was a huge success. 33 years later, we are still going strong.”
John has been training horses since he was a young lad on his family’s dairy farm in Great Valley. “I always wanted to learn how to ride, but my mom wouldn’t let me. I wanted to compete riding bucket horses. There was (and still is) big money in rodeo, and I wanted a part of it.” When I moved out and got married, I swore I’d never have anything to do with farming. Then I ended up buying a farm that’s even bigger than the one I grew up on with a rodeo every year.”
The rodeo consists of 9 full events, with BIG prize money, bringing over 350 rodeo athletes to the area from all over the globe. The rodeo is divided into two categories – rough-stock (or riding events) and timed events including – bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, team roping, junior bull riding, cowgirls barrel riding, calf roping, cowgirls breakaway roping and bull riding. Kids 10 and under are invited to join in a stick horse race (pre-registration required, at the gate day of event) Kids must have a stick horse to enter, and are available for purchase at the K-M Tack Tent.
Come hungry, the rodeo boasts a midway full of food vendors in addition to his wife’s home-cooked foods. “Karen puts on all the food herself. She’s got all the good stuff: hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, big pretzels, popcorn, ice cream, you name it.” They also offer soda stations and a full beer tent. The souvenir tack shop offers a variety of rodeo apparel – hoodies, hats, t-shirts, kids’ toys, and of course cowboy hats.
John explains the rodeo as “edge of your seat excitement. There is a lot of action, a lot of competition and fun in every corner.” He personally hires his announcer on horseback, the trick riders and the clown entertainment in order to ensure a good show. “It’s good old-fashioned family fun for all ages. It’s the real thing. It’s thrilling to watch the competitors; you never know what’s going to happen. If they get hurt, it’s real. If the bull goes wild, it’s real. You just have to see it to believe it.”
His favorite part of the rodeo is watching the spectators. “I just love watching the families walk in, smiling. The kids get so excited. I love listening to the crowd, the cheering. I don’t have to even watch the show to know what’s going on, I can hear the intensity of the crowd’s reaction. It’s great.”
Presale tickets are available online at a discounted rate of $23/adult, $13 kids, 5 and under free, until June 25th. Tickets will be available at the gate for $25 adult/$15/kids with credit cards accepted. Don’t miss out on the excitement! Grab the family and head to 6319 Sommerville Road, June 30-July 2 at 7pm, July 3 at 2pm. Gates open 2 hours prior to the event, with fireworks after evening events.