75th Ten Sleep Fourth of July Rodeo highlights holiday festivities

TEN SLEEP – Despite many events and large gatherings being cancelled around the state due to COVID-19, the 75th edition of the Ten Sleep Fourth of July Rodeo is set to take place on Friday and Saturday July 3 and 4, along with a wide range of other activities in Ten Sleep.

According to Thelma Geis, the rodeo has been around since the mid-1940s as a non-profit rodeo that started from humble beginnings. Vehicles formed the arena early on prior to the completion of the Ten Sleep Rodeo Grounds.

Wyoming is famous for their rodeos and events celebrating Independence Day, and Ten Sleep certainly has not been an exception after reaching their 75th edition of the rodeo this year.

July 3 will have activities that include slack events for the rodeo at 10 a.m. such as team roping and barrel racing; helicopter rides at the Ten Sleep Brewery, a night rodeo that starts at 5 p.m. along with street dances at night.

The Fourth of July will kick off with the parade at 10 a.m. centered around the theme of “75 years of rodeo.” The parade is set to start at 10, but the exact start time centers around when the Pony Express (carrying mail from Hyattville) arrives to lead the parade.

Prizes that will be awarded for the parade this year are best theme of the parade, most patriotic, car, business, church group, horse entry, boy, girl, and the judges’ choice. Derald Cheeney will serve as the grand marshal for the parade this year, and Pam and Jack Haggerty will serve as the judges this year.

Registration is on the corner of Highway 20 and Highway 436, those wishing to register should contact Becky Cooper at 366-2748. Sign-ins and registration should be done before 9:30 a.m. the day of the parade.

The parade is a part of select events that are exempt under continued Wyoming Public Health Order Number Two that restricts gatherings of more than 50 people indoors and 250 people for outdoor events.

Following the parade, the rodeo is set to kick off at 1:30 p.m. at the Ten Sleep Rodeo Grounds. According to Geiss, the rodeo will feature bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, team roping, calf roping, breakaway roping, barrels but no steer wrestling due to a lack of interest this year.

The rodeo received an exemption through the state that will allow for 100 people in each set of stands with social distancing being enforced. According to the exemption request the stands normally have a capacity of 250 spectators. Additional capacity will allow up to 25 persons per vehicle pull-in locations around the arena for up to 625 persons able to attend in that area, and 825 total for the event.

According to the exemption, signs will be posted regarding social distancing along with ample restroom cleaning and sanitizing stations. Contestants and staff of the event will be screened for symptoms prior to working or competing.

According to the exemption, one member per family is encouraged to attend the concessions or beer garden at a time, and wait in designated social distancing areas prior to being served. Those wishing to attend are reminded if they have any symptoms of COVID-19 to not enter the event so that they will not risk spreading the disease.

Other activities on the Fourth include a craft fair that starts at 9 a.m. and runs until 2 p.m. in the town park. The craft fair is expected to be slightly smaller than last year according to Jaime Craft, but there are still expected to be a variety of vendors.

Helicopter rides will again be available at the Ten Sleep Brewery from 10:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. There will be street dances the evening of the Fourth.

The end of the Fourth of July will finish with a fireworks celebration, able to be seen from anywhere in town.

The Forever Cowgirl Barrel Racing event will be Sunday, July 5, and will be a 4D racing event; 4D barrel racing denotes the speed set by national standards, and is the fourth out of six divisions recognized in barrel racing.