The Flint Hills Rodeo is more than a weekend of broncs, bulls, roping and riding. For Mike Holder of Chase County, it is a community tradition shaped by history, volunteers and the Flint Hills landscape itself.
The 88th annual Flint Hills Rodeo will be held Thursday, May 28, Friday, May 29, and Saturday, May 30, at the rodeo grounds in Strong City. Performances begin at 8 p.m. each night.
Holder, a longtime rodeo volunteer and retired rodeo floor director, has been involved with the rodeo since 1973. Although he is no longer an active board member, he continues to help where he can.
“It’s a great community event,” Holder said.
The rodeo offers something Holder believes is difficult to capture in a website listing or press release. It is the combination of the setting, the people, the livestock and the atmosphere.
The rodeo grounds are located at the north end of Strong City, in the heart of the Flint Hills. From the grounds, visitors can see pastures and grazing land surrounding the arena. Holder said the evening performances often take place at one of the most beautiful times of day in the Flint Hills.
For families who have never attended a rodeo, Holder said Strong City is an ideal place to start. The grounds allow spectators to see cowboys, cowgirls, horses, cattle and the workings of the rodeo up close. He described it as both entertaining and educational, especially for those interested in the connection between rodeo, agriculture and ranching in the Flint Hills.
“Rodeo and ranching just go together,” Holder said. The Flint Hills Rodeo began in 1937 west of Strong City and was held in a couple of different locations before moving to its present rodeo grounds in 1947. The grounds have remained there since, with many improvements made over the years. Holder noted that the facilities now include updated buildings, clean restrooms and a roofed dance floor area used for rodeo dances and other activities.
One of the most significant behind- the-scenes facts, Holder said, is that the rodeo is still put on by volunteers. No one is making money from the event. It takes about 200 volunteers each year to make the Flint Hills Rodeo happen.
That effort does not begin the week of the rodeo. Holder said planning starts almost immediately after one rodeo ends, and sometimes even during the event itself. Contracts are made with the stock contractor, announcer and specialty acts for the following year. The rodeo board meets about monthly throughout the year to work on finances, buildings, facilities and general upkeep.
Roger Mooney, an award-winning professional rodeo announcer and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association Announcer of the Year, will return to call the action at the Flint Hills Rodeo. Holder said Mooney has been a staple at the historic Strong City event for years and praised his humor, knowledge and ability to tell the stories behind what is happening in the arena. An announcer, Holder said, is a major part of the rodeo experience because he helps spectators understand the action while keeping the evening moving.
Cervi Championship Rodeo will return as the stock contractor, bringing the livestock for the arena competition. The rodeo will also feature Preston Broxson as barrelman and entertainer, with Andrew Mellencamp and Mason Sheldon serving as bullfighters.
The rodeo grounds can seat about 6,500 people, and Holder said in recent years the bleachers have been full all three nights. That is especially notable in Chase County, where the county population is far smaller than the crowd the rodeo can draw on a single night.
The event has also become a time for family gatherings and reunions. Holder said many local families plan reunions around rodeo weekend.
In addition to the rodeo performances, the weekend includes other traditions and activities. Thursday is Family Night, with children 12 and under admitted free. The trade show and Kid’s Buckaroo/Buckarette Rodeo with stick horses will begin at 6 p.m., followed by the first rodeo performance at 8 p.m. Friday is Military Night, with proper military identification required. Slack begins at 8 a.m. The trade show and Kid’s Buckaroo/ Buckarette Rodeo will begin at 6 p.m., followed by the second rodeo performance at 8 p.m. A cowboy dance featuring the Rick Cook Band will follow at 10 p.m.
Saturday’s activities include the annual rodeo parade at 2 p.m. in Strong City. Holder said the parade draws people who line the streets with lawn chairs, often sitting under shade trees to watch. The parade typically includes floats, church entries, ranchers and families on horseback, rodeo clowns, bullfighters and rodeo royalty from across Kansas.
Holder advised those who want to attend the parade not to wait until the last minute. Once the road is closed, parking and seating can become difficult.
Saturday’s trade show and Kid’s Buckaroo/Buckarette Rodeo begin at 6 p.m., followed by the final rodeo performance at 8 p.m. A cowboy dance featuring the Rick Cook Band will follow at 10 p.m. The dances are included with the purchase of a rodeo ticket. Other children’s activities include a kid’s calf scramble and mutton bustin’ during all three performances.
Another children’s event is planned Friday morning at the Chase County Courthouse-area library in Cottonwood Falls. Holder said the library staff expected to host rodeo-related guests, including clowns, bullfighters and possibly rodeo queens, with activities designed to introduce young people to rodeo. He said part of the effort is also tied to reading, with rodeo professionals expected to share short rodeo stories with children.
For Holder, those extras matter because they help make the rodeo more than an arena event. They help children, families and visitors connect with the culture surrounding it.
Holder retired after a career with Kansas State University, where he worked as a district extension agent in agriculture and 4-H for Chase and Morris counties. His background in agriculture and youth programming is reflected in the way he talks about the rodeo — not simply as entertainment, but as part of the region’s identity.
Reserved seating is $20 for Thursday and $30 for Friday or Saturday. General admission is $15 for ages 13 and older Thursday, with children 12 and under admitted free. General admission is $20 for ages 7 and older Friday and Saturday, with children 6 and under admitted free.
Schedules, ticket information and updates are available at flinthillsrodeo. org. Tickets may be purchased on the website, by calling 620-794-1864, or at Citizens State Bank locations in Emporia and Cottonwood Falls.
After more than 50 years of involvement, Holder still sees the Flint Hills Rodeo as one of Chase County’s defining community events.
It remains, in his words, a family atmosphere, a glimpse of ranching culture and “a good place to be.”
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.