CHICKASHA – A new group of champions will be crowned Saturday when the 83rd annual Chickasha Open Rodeo concludes.
The event begins 8 p.m. Friday at the Grady County Fairgrounds. A Saturday parade is set for 4 p.m. in downtown Chickasha.
The events include bull riding, bronc riding, saddle and bareback, calf roping, double mugging, breakaway roping and barrel racing for juniors and seniors.
Randy Brown, treasurer for the Chickasha Rodeo Foundation, said he expects another capacity crowd for the annual rodeo.
“We normally will fill the stands with 2,000 to 2,500 people and we have standing room only on the floor. They’ve been coming out for this rodeo for years,” he said. “We have all types of people who come out here and that’s why we’ve been able to keep our prices down.”
Admission is $8 for adults, $4 for kids and there’s no charge for children under 5.
The Chickasha Rodeo is part of a circuit that includes competitors across the state and out of state, but particularly from southwest Oklahoma. Some participants have signed up early, but most will sign their name on the entry sheet the first day of the rodeo, Brown said. So far, 14 competitors have signed up for the bronc riding event and nine have committed to the bull riding competition.
The popularity of this rodeo, and the sport itself, has never waned in the event’s 83 years.
“It just seems like rodeo is a part of Oklahoma and a way of life,” Brown said. “We enjoy seeing the cowboys and cowgirls of all ages.”
The Chickasha Rodeo, which was started by the Roundup Club, initially was held at the football stadium as dirt was brought in and placed on the playing field. The event moved to the fairgrounds about 40 years ago, Brown said. Later, the Chickasha Rodeo Foundation was formed, and the group has managed the rodeo ever since.
A rodeo queen contest will not be held this year largely due to the COVID-19 virus, Brown said.
For more details about the two-day rodeo and parade, call (405) 224-0282.