{"id":133047,"date":"2026-06-15T17:35:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T23:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/rodeo-returns-to-cortez-and-so-do-traditions-that-surround-it\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T10:56:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T16:56:18","slug":"sold-out-crowd-caps-off-ute-mountain-roundup-rodeo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/sold-out-crowd-caps-off-ute-mountain-roundup-rodeo\/","title":{"rendered":"Sold-out crowd caps off Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Rodeo
Rodeo fans in the Montezuma County Fairgrounds grandstands Thursday laugh and cheer as the night carries on with eight competitive events, featuring disciplined bareback riding, roping, barrel racing and more leading up to bull riding \u2013 the grand finale. (Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Editor\u2019s note: This story was updated Monday to include a weekend summary and provide the total cash amount awarded to competitors. <\/em><\/p>\n

Returning for its 96th year, the Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo kicked off Thursday evening at the Montezuma County Fairgrounds under a spectacular Colorado blue sky and sinking yellow sun.<\/p>\n

Three nights of competition came with $91,351 in cash prizes Thursday through Saturday. Saturday evening wrapped up one of the most celebrated local summertime gatherings with a sold-out audience.<\/p>\n

In the stands, crowds cheered to encourage athletes in team roping, bareback riding, steer wrestling, barrel racing and more.<\/p>\n

Ute Mountain Rodeo chair Bentley Colbert said what stood out was the level of crowd intensity: \u201cNinety-six years in, and this community still shows up like that \u2013 it never gets old.\u201d<\/p>\n

Night one welcomed a crowd of several hundred in an opening performance blending historical tribute, prayer and patriotism. The announcer began highlighting the history of the American cowboy originating in Spain, tracing it to the traditional Mexican horsemen \u2013 known as charros and virtual icons of Mexican heritage.<\/p>\n

\"Rodeo
Rodeo festivities before the competitions feature plenty of youth activities, including horse stick races for little kids Thursday evening. The Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo annually draws thousands to the fairgrounds in three days. It\u2019s seen as a hugely celebrated local gathering during summertime. (Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Energetic music and grandstand cheers filled the air while a woman on horseback, dressed to the nines in an embroidered flowing skirt, assumed center stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis lead horseman established the cultures that define the Western herding today,\u201d said professional rodeo announcer Jody Carper of California.<\/p>\n

\u201cHorsemen develop unmatched skills in roping, riding and herding,\u201d Carper continued. \u201cToday, this legacy lives on not only as the charro \u2026 but right here tonight at the Ute Mountain Roundup.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLadies and gentlemen,\u201d he yelled. \u201cWe call it rodeo. Are you ready?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jody
Jody Carper returned Thursday to the Montezuma County Fairgrounds as this year\u2019s Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo announcer. (Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Cole Edward Phillips sang and played the national anthem on his guitar to close out the patriotic opener before Carper greeted the crowd in Cortez for what he called \u201cAmerica\u2019s original sport,\u201d by announcing the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, the Women\u2019s Professional Rodeo Association and the event\u2019s sponsors.<\/p>\n

The Powder River Rodeo livestock have been owned and managed by Hank and Lori Franzen since the 1980s.<\/p>\n

\"Rodeo
Rodeo clown Dusty Myers entertained rodeo-goers with jokes and antics throughout the weekend. (Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Along with the summer weather, Thursday\u2019s festivities kept promises of the usual fanfare with a mixing of sport, pleasing food and upbeat music contributing to the arena\u2019s high-energy atmosphere. The emcee detailed specific scores over the rodeo\u2019s male and female events while peppering in banter with PRCA award-winning clown Dusty Myers as the duo engaged the crowd during ofttimes.<\/p>\n

\"Lindsey
Lindsey Fancher-Rule, this year\u2019s Miss Rodeo Colorado, rounds the Montezuma County Fairgrounds arena at the opening of the Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo on Thursday. (Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A major crowd-pleaser Thursday was the mutton-busting event, in which young children attempted to ride sheep. Five-year-old Lincoln Days won the event with an 86-point score while riding backward, earning a free pair of Justin Boots.<\/p>\n

The Fraizer Carnival could be seen in the short distance, where at dusk the Ferris wheel stood picturesque before the backdrop of Sleeping Ute Mountain.<\/p>\n

\"Sunset
Sunset at the Fraizer Carnival Thursday. (Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Carnival-goers
Carnival-goers enjoy a variety of rides before the rodeo begins. (Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Many attending Thursday evening were locals who recall the memories of coming to the rodeo each year. Rachel Theobald described it as a cherished outing planned annually with her best friend as a \u201cgirls\u2019 night out.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the rodeo brings nostalgia and deep familiarity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the bull riding or barrel racing,\u201d Theobald said. \u201cI have lots of friends that barrel race. So, it\u2019s fun to watch it.\u201d<\/p>\n

While another attendee Amber Baraner recalled participating in the rodeo when she was younger and brought her young daughter Thursday as a generational tradition.<\/p>\n

Treating the athletes: Kiviok Hight<\/div>\n

Behind the scenes, athletes enduring the physical toll were adjusted by Cortez chiropractor Kiviok Hight, who has offered his knowledge and time to help riders with their injuries for three decades.<\/p>\n

He said he\u2019s exposed to wide-ranging injuries occurring from \u201chead to toe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kiviok
Kiviok Hight of Cortez Chiropractic works on Jessica Magie during the rodeo\u2019s opening night Thursday. Hight has assisted contestants and others at the annual event for 30 years. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Hight treats a range of common to new, acute symptoms for contestants. He said it\u2019s any athlete from a team roper to the stock rider that may experience the rough-and-tumble, repetitive issues in events where he said \u201cjust about everything happens to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite part of this event is seeing the athletes coming back year after year and being able to reconnect with them,\u201d Hight said.<\/p>\n

Hight also visits with and helps rodeo staff who happen upon the fairgrounds hospitality suite. On occasion, he\u2019s cared for the spare sheep or horse.<\/p>\n

He said he has learned a great deal from his own athletic background in high-intensity outdoor sporting featuring mountain biking, trekking, running, and kayaking. It\u2019s personal insight on recovery he calls up when addressing rodeo athletes in the real-time throes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is about how the injury relates to their life,\u201d Hight said. \u201cWe all depend on our body day-to-day, and I want to be able to help them whether there needs to be changes or I\u2019m just a part of their whole routine.\u201d<\/p>\n

awatson@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three-day event awards more than $91,000 to competitors<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":133048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[28,60,2105,29,6419],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-133047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-headlines","tag-montezuma-county","tag-montezuma-county-fair","tag-newsletter","tag-tj-trueanthem"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133047"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":133520,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133047\/revisions\/133520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133047"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=133047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}