Cowboy Roundup USA
Grab all the little doggies, and your other half and head on out to Amarillo for some serious Wild West excitement! Held annually in June this is another chance to see the ranch cowboys at their best. Real hardworking ranch cowboys compete for fun and prizes while entertaining the visitors. It is a great opportunity to see what skills a cowboy puts to daily use on the ranch.

Getting Started
The three day event gets started with the World’s Greatest Horsemanship Competition. A cowboy is only as good as his horse. To do his job well he must know his horse and the horse must understand him. They often have to think as one. This event allows cowboys and their horses to highlight their talents as a team. There are four areas of competition: herd work, rein work, steer stopping and cow work. The competition is tough and the title prestigious but the winner and his horse will have earned it.

Head for the Rodeo
The events keep on into the next day with the Cowboy Gear Show/Sale continuing along with the horse shows. But now the real excitement begins. The bulls are snorting and stopping in their pens and the cowboys are tightening straps and making sure their equipment is in top notch shape.

Ranch rodeos are all about team work and the ranch teams act together to see just who is the best at the various events:

• Wild Cow Milking – at this rodeo it is a six man team trying to get Buttercup to give forth her best. Hilarious fun watching this event.
• Calf Branding – again a six man team – roping and branding as fast as they can.
• Saddle Bronc Riding – a bit different from regular rodeo – you have to use a ranch horse saddle, no special riggings on this ride.
• Cattle Sorting – sort them out, and herd ‘em up – whatever kind the judge calls for – go get them cowboys!
• Cowboy Doctoring – again this event uses a six man team instead of a four man team some others use.
• Cattle Roping – a much needed skill for any cowboy and his partners.

Chuck Wagon Cooking
A necessary part of ranch life is chuckwagon cooking but just because you are out on the plains with the cows, doesn’t mean dinner has to be boring. Each team has the opportunity to show just what they can do in the kitchen or wagon as the case may be. And it isn’t just how good the food tastes that wins you the prize, its how historically accurate your setup is that can make the difference.

Areas for competition are:

• fried steak
• potatoes
• beans (a cowboy staple!)
• sourdough biscuits
• cobbler

There is lots of delicious western food for you to enjoy and to fortify you for the rest of the events. You can enjoy a chuckwagon lunch on Saturday after the competition.

It Just Gets Better
As the Cowboy Roundup starts winding down, the activities only get better. The last full day of the event there is much to see and do. A chuckwagon lunch, the junior ranch rodeo, and the championship washer pitching contest are a few of the main activities you will not want to miss. Awards are handed out and competition continues throughout the day and evening.

Educational Fun
This event also provides a wealth of information. Learn how wagons are preserved and restored, sit in on seminars on chuckwagon cooking or take a cow horse demonstration. Everyone will learn something new! Even attend to Cowboy Church on Sunday.

Location: Amarillo National Center at the Amarillo Tri-State Fairgrounds