Coors Cowboy Club Ranch Rodeo kicks off tonight

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - Tonight, the 35th annual Coors Cowboy Club Ranch Rodeo kicks off with changes to celebrate.

The rodeo is now over the course of three nights and there are also double the amount of ranches competing.

All 20 ranches are competing tonight and Friday. The top 10 in each event compete in the short-go on Saturday.

“They get to see what these ranch cowboys do on a regular basis and more importantly what they’ve done for the last 150 years because in a lot of ways things on the ranch haven’t changed that much,” said Tod Mayfield, co-chair of the Coors Cowboy Club Ranch Rodeo.

The ranch rodeo has unique events that you won’t see at your typical rodeo. Some events include roping, branding, wild cow milking, and trailer loading.

The fan-favorite cattle drive normally kicks off the rodeo, but this year there has been a change. Working with the Amarillo Convention and Visitors Bureau, the cattle drive and the parade is moved to Saturday at 10:00 a.m. to kick off the Texas Route 66 Festival.

“This is our opportunity to celebrate our area and our western heritage that built and created this area and which in many ways still runs this area,” said Mayfield.

Thousands of people normally attend, but having the parade Saturday allows more people to come since the Texas Route 66 Festival is expected to bring in many more to the area.

This year, the Coors Cowboy Club has added classic cars as part of the Texas Route 66 Festival. According to the Coors Cowboy Club, the cattle drive and parade will happen rain or shine on Polk Street from 10th to 3rd.

Saturday is the Chuckwagon lunch at the Rex Baxter building. This is the second year of the Chuckwagon gathering at the ranch rodeo.

“Look at the history because that’s what the cowboy club is about,” said Dub Nichols, Chuckwagon cook and member of the Coors Cowboy Club. “It’s about the history of the Texas Panhandle. The Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico area, because that’s where the big ranches are the keepers who live in this part of the country.”

The Chuckwagons will serve chicken fried steak, red beans, rolls, mashed potatoes, and peach cobbler. 10 teams from around the tri-state region will be there to give you a taste of our area’s history.

“Look at the history and see something you’ve never seen before because everything here is the way they actually did it back in the old days during a cattle drive or during ranch work when they go from pasture to pasture. The cowboys had to eat,” said Nichols.

The 2023 Chuckwagon teams are Cross Timbers, J Bar D, Honey Do Spoiler, 2-M, Lazy M, Cocklebur Camp, Slim Pickings, Chola Flats, Horse Pen, and Double Nichols.

For a schedule of events click here.

To buy tickets, click here.

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