Even with the capacity for 2,000 people — and even at the peak of monsoon season — the Snowmass Rodeo tends to sell out days in advance.
Crowds pack the buses to the brand-new arena, decked out in tailored Western wear and custom hats. They’ll huddle in cars and transit center vestibules to wait out a thunderstorm if they have to. And demand has grown so high that scalpers are scooping up tickets and selling them for hundreds of dollars, as first reported by the Aspen Times. This summer marked the 50th anniversary for the rodeo, which hosts its final events of the season Wednesday night, and organizers have celebrated with packed stadiums just about every week.
It’s thanks, in large part, to a dedicated crew of competitors, workers and volunteers who have a passion for the rodeo and what it represents.
“I've been in a saddle before I could walk,” said Charlie Henderson, a board member for the Snowmass Western Heritage Association that organizes this event. “So this is my love, and I love the rodeo.”
The association also gives out college scholarships to some rodeo participants. And just as the name implies, the nonprofit is focused on preserving the region’s Western heritage. Competitive events like team roping and saddle bronc riding have evolved from the day-to-day work of a cowboy, and some contestants’ ties to agriculture go back generations.
The organization's leadership also reflects its mission. Board President Jim Snyder is a longtime local rancher with experience in Rifle and Snowmass Village; Executive Director Darce Vold is considered “rodeo royalty,” with decades of experience under her belt. (Her extended family also has a national reputation for producing rodeos and raising stock horses.)
This rodeo in Snowmass is actually several years younger than the nearby ski area, but organizers and rodeo volunteers like Mark Lewis want to remind people that this town was a community of ranchers before it had a resort.
“I mean, you had all the families around here, the Anderson family, the Stapleton family… so, you know, being in the mountains, being in the Snowmass Aspen area, and knowing our roots, of course, a rodeo fits right in,” Lewis said.
He was manning the ticket booth on a recent rainy Wednesday, when crews had to briefly evacuate the arena due to a lightning storm. It’s just about the only thing that put a pause on rodeo programming, due to safety concerns with an outdoor metal stadium, but it didn’t seem to put too much of a damper on attendance; once skies cleared, masses of ticket holders huddled near the entrance waiting for festivities to begin again.
Adult tickets for this Wednesday’s rodeo are already sold out, but event organizers keep about 200 tickets on hand to sell onsite to those who missed out online. Gates open at 5 p.m., with activities like a petting zoo and mechanical bull; competitive events like bareback riding and barrel racing run from 7 p.m. onward.
