The Pendleton Round-Up is a major annual

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

in the

northwestern United States The Northwestern United States, also known as the American Northwest or simply the Northwest, is an informal geographic region of the United States. The region consistently includes the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming ...

, at Pendleton in northeastern

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. Held at the Pendleton Round-Up Stadium during the second full week of September each year since 1910, the rodeo brings roughly 50,000 people every year to the city. The Pendleton Round-Up is a member of the

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the N ...

(PRCA). The

ProRodeo Hall of Fame The ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy was opened in August 1979 as a museum designed to "preserve the legacy of the cowboy contests, the heritage and culture of those original competitions, and the champions of the past, p ...

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

, inducted the Pendleton Round-Up in 2008. The Round-Up was incorporated as a 501(c)(4) not-for-profit organization on July 29, 1910, as the "Northwestern Frontier Exhibition Association". The rodeo was primarily a creation of local ranchers led by Herman Rosenberg. The Pendleton Round-Up has received the PRCA Large Outdoor Rodeo of the Year award eleven times: 2003, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Bonnie-McCarroll-thrown-fro

Bronc rider Bonnie McCarroll (1897–1929) died in a rodeo accident at Pendleton. The PRCA, formed in 1936, initially scheduled no events for women as a result of her death. Pendleton Roundup 1913

History

The first Pendleton Round-up was held in 1910, born of a "communistic" desire to establish a city park for Pendleton. It was an immediate success, and grew in scale dramatically in each of its first several years. The only cancellations happened in 1943, 1944 (both due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

), and 2020 (due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Events

There are 11 events in which cowboys (and cowgirls in barrel racing and breakaway roping) from all over the United States and Canada compete. The All-Around Cowboy is awarded to the competitor who wins the most money in the required number of events. *

Bareback riding Bareback riding is a form of equestrianism, horseback riding without a saddle. It requires skill, balance, and coordination, as the rider does not have any equipment to compensate for errors of balance or skill. Proponents of bareback riding arg ...

* Saddle bronc riding * Tie-down roping *

Team roping Team roping also known as heading and heeling is a rodeo event that features a Cattle#Terminology, steer (typically a Corriente) and two equestrianism, mounted riders. The first roper is referred to as the "header", the person who ropes the fr ...

Steer wrestling Steer wrestling, also known as bulldogging, is a rodeo event in which a horse-mounted rider chases a steer, drops from the horse to the steer, then wrestles the steer to the ground by grabbing its horns and pulling it off-balance so that it fall ...

Barrel racing Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to run a cloverleaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. In collegiate and professional ranks, it is usually a women's event, though both sexes compete at amateur an ...

Breakaway roping Breakaway roping is a variation of calf roping where a calf is roped, but not thrown and tied. It is a rodeo event that features a calf and one mounted rider. The calves are moved one at a time through narrow runs leading to a chute with spring- ...

Steer roping Steer roping, also known as steer tripping or steer jerking, is a rodeo event that features a Cattle#Terminology, steer and one mounted cowboy. Technique The steer roper starts behind a "barrier" - a taut rope fastened with an easily broken string ...

Bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to bucking, buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." ...

* Indian relay races * Wild cow milking

Round-Up week

Every Round-Up week begins with the Dress Up Parade, on the Saturday before the rodeo, in which different groups throughout Eastern Oregon, including Boy and Girl Scouts, Pendleton High School Band, the Children's Rodeo, and many local businesses, build floats and compete for 1st place. Indian dancers - Pendleton Oregon roundup - 1911

Indian dancers - Pendleton Oregon roundup - 1911

The Happy Canyon Indian Pageant and Wild West Show was designated the state's official outdoor pageant in 2017. Friday of Round-Up week is the Westward Ho! parade, in which every entrant must be in a non-motorized vehicle, most of which are authentic

covered wagon A covered wagon, also called a prairie wagon, whitetop, or prairie schooner, is a horse-drawn or ox-drawn wagon used for passengers or freight hauling. It has a canvas, tarpaulin, or waterproof sheet which is stretched over removable wooden ...

s and horse-drawn buggies, though some choose to ride horseback or walk. Since 2021, the Monday and Tuesday before the rodeo begins, the PRCA Xtreme Bulls Tour Finale takes place at the Happy Canyon Arena. Previously, the

Professional Bull Riders The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is the largest bull riding league in the world, sanctioning hundreds of events every yea ...

(PBR) held an event at said venue the Monday and Tuesday before the rodeo began for several years. Wednesday is when both Round-Up and Happy Canyon begin.

Grand entry

The rodeo starts with an extreme run in on horseback of flag bearers; the

Flag of the United States The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

, the

Flag of Oregon The flag of Oregon is a Flags whose reverse differs from the obverse, two-sided flag in navy blue and gold (color), gold with an optional gold fringe. On the front is the escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon from the seal of Oregon, state seal and o ...

, the

Flag of Canada The National Flag of Canada (), popularly referred to as The Maple Leaf or l'Unifolié (), consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of , in which is featured one stylized, red, 11-pointed maple leaf Charge (hera ...

, and the flag of the

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation are the federally recognized confederations of three Sahaptin-speaking Native Americans of the United States, Native American tribes who traditionally inhabited the Columbia River Plate ...

, then the Round-Up Queen and her court run in on their horses at full speed, make two jumps and stop just before the fence in front of the south grandstand.

Personnel

The current announcer of the Pendleton Round-Up is Wayne Brooks, while the

bullfighters A bullfighter or matador () is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter, and describe all the performers in the activi ...

are Dusty Tuckness and Tim O'Conner.

Grand Final Review

References

* *

External links

Official Website

History of the Pendleton Round-Up

Audio slideshow of a 97-year-old ex-Pendleton rodeo clown

Happy Canyon
an Indian Pageant that is part of the Roundup
"Oh you round up let 'er buck"
Official song of the 1912 Round Up - Sheet music and photographs
Pendleton Round-Up
Documentary produced by ''

Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary public broadcasting, public media organization for the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington (state), Washington. It provides news, information, and programming via television stati ...

'' {{coord, 45.67, -118.80, type:landmark_region:US-OR_source:googlemapssatellite, display=title 1910 establishments in Oregon Annual events in Oregon Festivals in Oregon Organizations based in Oregon Pendleton, Oregon Recurring events established in 1910 Rodeos Tourist attractions in Umatilla County, Oregon Festivals established in 1910 ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees Rodeo venues in the United States