Cody Nite Rodeo & Cody Stampede Rodeo — Attraction in Cody

Not the extravaganza claimed by their advertising, Cody Rodeo is the typical so-so county fair fare, with bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, calf roping, barrel racing and bull riding. It’s a fast show, with little pageantry. Slam bam! Fast and over! It had none of the spectacle of Cheyenne, Denver or Calgary.

We spent good money to see the July 4th Cody Rodeo, which was marketed as the best rodeo event for Independence Day in the USA. It was not even close.

Don’t blame the cowboys, many of whom were world champions competing that day. They had an off day like you occasionally see in rodeo. Virtually no cowboy rode a bronc or bull or roped a steer or calf. It was just like watching a minor rodeo in rural Oklahoma, where you pay money and expect no one will score.

Don’t blame the people in the stands. They were hollering their heads off cheering on the hapless cowboys and cowgirls.

Blame the rodeo announcer, who spent zero time explaining the events to the audience -- many of whom had never seen a rodeo. He was a supreme butt kisser, fawning all over the champions who were competing, but not taking one moment to explain their events.

The worst moment of the rodeo was when this announcer, who was not from Cody, riled the crowd with the opening ceremonies with a Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem, and then a prayer to Jesus which was offered as a challenge to the no good liberals who are destroying America with their homosexuality and opposition to prayer in school. He posited that in the urban America of today “the American flag isn’t welcome anymore” and finally, he gave a full-throated endorsement of President Trump (not named but by clear implication) to “pack the Supreme Court with justices who will put GOD FIRST!” Get this: The announcer, supposedly one of the best in the business, made a point of being dismissive of all other religions because “I’m gonna pray to MY lord and savior, Jesus Christ!”

(Sadly, much of this evoked thunderous, indeed ravenous applause.)

The only problem with this is I didn’t pay good money for an alt-right sermon. Neither did the tourists from France, Germany, India, Japan, and other countries I couldn’t identify. There were sitting in this audience expecting to be entertained by their first rodeo. Instead, they paid good money to listen to an alt-right rally for Jesus and Trump.

Rodeo has been on an arc toward right wing evangelism for about 20 years. Cowboys ride a horse or bull and when they land on the ground in one piece, these protestant cowboys kneel and cross themselves like penitent Catholics. It’s gotten ridiculous. Rodeo used to be broncs, bulls, cowboys, “buckle bunnies” (rodeo groupies) and beer. Now it’s alt-right evangelism and you’re paying for it.

Also, the rodeo did nothing to pay respects to the American Indians who once controlled all of Wyoming. Cody is less than an hour from a gigantic Shoshone Indian Reservation and not one moment was spent honoring their heritage.

Cody is a nice tourist town with very friendly people. Their July 4th rodeo didn’t reflect that. It was just an unwanted trip...

If you really love rodeo, or want to experience your first the rodeo performance itself is fine, although when putting on a nightly show for months you simply aren't going to have the biggest names or top competitors for most of those showings. But the competitors who were there when we attended were easy to root for, and we really enjoyed the junior competitions (barrel racing and roping). The employees we interacted with were all friendly, and if it's your first rodeo the $5 guidebook is well worth the price.

The facilities are adequate and the surrounding landscape is stunning. Whether you enjoy the non-rodeo aspects may depend on your sociopolitical persuasion (and/or tolerance for the views of others). The pre-rodeo prayers and flag-waving portion is prolonged and neither nuanced or subtle, and while it probably feels reassuring to some, it might seem to border on self-parody to others.

Finally, the rodeo clown banter did not go over well with our group. Our group was made up of individuals ranging in age from 14 to 71, evenly split between men and women, and contained people who grew up in small-town Wyoming as well as those from the Midwest and West Coast, (several are rodeo regulars). Everyone in our group felt the attempts at humor fell surprisingly short, and sometimes felt downright mean-spirited. I'm sure some will find it their cup of tea, but given the diversity of our group I want to note it for others.

I would not recommend against the experience, but you should know what you are getting into to make sure it's worth your...

Lots of family fun, and a great bargain all around. They had good choices for food (hot dogs and nachos, BBQ, that kind of thing) and a bar that just serves beer. They do have a Pendleton whiskey sponsorship so hoping they can start serving that soon too, but did not when we were there. The contestants for the rodeo were very talented and there was a high focus on younger performers (under 12) which my kids liked, and a good amount of men and women also.

It's obvious that this site is a local staple and foundation for the community. They went out of their way to mention if a contestant was from the local area also.

That said, my family and I are from Pennsylvania. We aren't local and are not used to some of the local customs. They opened with a long prayer, and asked anyone in the audience if they wanted to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Then they did a long poem about America and the Flag, then the National Anthem.

All good and they have the rights to do all this as the venue owners but if you are from out of town and not used to that sort of thing, I wanted to caution you as it was a surprise to my wife and I.

The other surprise was the amount of jokes the Rodeo Clown did about politics. I get this is perceived to be a hard core Red State but the amount of jokes about our sitting president and blue states like California got old and tacky especially for those from out of town, and was a turn off for tourists who I'm sure this site would...