PRCA Rodeo To Return To Caribou County Fair

With a Presidential election looming and the Olympic Games set to begin this weekend many are feeling a sense of patriotism.  These events are historic but for many they will never feel national pride in the same way as when they attend the rodeo at the Caribou County Fair.  When that announcer says a cowboy’s prayer and you see the stars and stripes carried into the rodeo arena on horseback accompanied by the national anthem the feelings of national pride will win over even the harshest critics.  Rodeo not only honors the current men, women, and animals who participated in the sport but gives a nod to the history of the American West.  All of this will be on display August 6th and 7th at the fairgrounds in Grace.

For the first time in nearly a decade the Caribou County Fair will boast a PRCA rodeo.  Being a small rural community there are very few opportunities for residents to stay within the county and still be able to enjoy a professional sporting event.  The PRCA or Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado and is the oldest rodeo sanctioning body in the world.  The PRCA has an annual attendance of 40 million people across the United States.  With several stock contractors from all areas of the country the PRCA has the toughest standards in the industry when it comes to the care and treatment of livestock.  This year's stock contractor for the Caribou County Fair is Powder River Rodeo LLC.  Hank and Lori Franzen have owned and operated the Powder River Rodeo since 1986 from their home base of Riverton Wyoming.  Powder River Rodeo has been nominated several times for stock contractor of the year award and has won several horse of the year awards.  In a recent phone call with the fairboard Hank and Lori expressed their excitement to return to one of their favorite small town rodeos, the Caribou County Fair.

In addition to high level rodeo stock, hosting a PRCA rodeo brings in a high level of competitors.  Cowboys and cowgirls that are looking to collect big checks and earn points towards qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo seek out PRCA rodeos across the nation.  This fact played a big role in our local fair board's decision to change the rodeo dates for the Caribou County Fair this year.  Traditionally, the Caribou County rodeo is held on Thursday and Friday nights of the fair.  This year however the rodeo nights will be on Tuesday and Wednesday of the fair.  With several of the large rodeos in our area taking place on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays it is the hope of the fair board that many of the top cowboys and cowgirls will use the Caribou County rodeo as a stopping point between other rodeos. 

 Besides timing, the fairboard also had to take into consideration the cost and effort it would take to bring in a PRCA rodeo versus an amateur rodeo.  One of the ways the fairboard was able to combat the increased costs of bringing in a pro rodeo was thanks to the county commissioners and the businesses in the county increasing their donations to the fair.  The fairboard would like to thank these individuals and would encourage citizens to support those businesses that have donated to the fair.

Don’t miss out on your chance to see a group of professional athletes at the top of their game. Perhaps Garth Brooks says it best in one of his award winning songs, “Well it's the bulls and the blood, it's the dust and the mud….., its boots and chaps, its cowboy hats….., it's the ropes and the reins, and the joy and the pain and they call the thing rodeo.”