The Cattlemen
by Kurt GensheimerTradition. It’s the heart and soul of the oldest amateur rodeo in Nevada, the Lund Rodeo. First held in 1898, the Lund Rodeo has always maintained its amateur status, serving as a form of entertainment and bragging rights, originally for the founding ranching families of Lund, and now for amateur riders from all over the West.
1898 also marks the founding of Lund as a town, settled by members of the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS). The land rich with good soil and ample water was given to LDS families by the government after their original lands in the Parowan and St. George regions of Utah were annexed. Most of the families that settled Lund are still in Lund, including the Horsley family, who are instrumental in continuing the legacy of the Lund Rodeo.
Now well into their 70s, the Horsley brothers Roy, Ron, Richard and Roger have kept the Lund Rodeo a fixture in this tight knit ranching community in the White River Valley, 35 miles south of Ely. The Lund Rodeo has made a name for itself across the west for being a grassroots amateur rodeo welcoming non-professional riders to show their stuff in a small, family-friendly event. With the exception of 2020, the Lund Rodeo has been held every year since 1898.
“What makes the Lund Rodeo special is that there’s less pressure for riders to perform here, and more opportunity for riders who aren’t professional grade,” said Ron. “It’s a place where they can have fun and have a chance at winning some money.”
And with a rodeo that’s been going strong for more than 120 years, stories are abundant. The rodeo grounds have changed location a few times over the years, with the original grounds being nothing more than a bunch of cars parked in a circle. Riders would go out into the flats and round up wild Mustangs and use them for bucking horses.
Then there was the legend of Carl Bradshaw and his saddle horse.
“Carl would bring his horse into the chute, challenging anyone to ride it, but nobody could,” said Ron. “It was one heck of a buckin’ horse, and nobody could ride that horse but Carl.”
Then last year there was a mysterious man who showed up to the rodeo in an old pickup truck with a black camper and wore black clothes.
“We had no idea who this guy was, but he told us he wanted to ride a bronco and had never ridden one before,” said Roy.
“He was in his late 60s, but he looked like he was in his mid 80s,” laughed Richard.
As soon as the bronco was released from the gate, the man in black was thrown, then kicked in the forehead by the bronco.
“He was helicoptered to a hospital in Salt Lake. We tried following up to check in, but never heard anything from him again,” said Roy.
And if it isn’t horses making entertainment for spectators, there’s always a good ol’ fistfight. Richard recalls when he was 12 years old, sitting next to their father Lynn, the longtime announcer of the Lund Rodeo.
“My dad had to go to the bathroom, so he gave me the microphone,” said Richard. “I had never announced before, and right then two cowboys started fighting each other in front of the chutes. One had a horseshoe nail between his fingers and was raking the other guy’s face. I was scared to death, and all I remember announcing was ‘hey, we need the police in here!’”.
The rodeo is held every July 24th weekend, celebrating the founding of Lund as a town, coinciding with the town’s Pioneer Days events including a parade, 5K run, Pioneer Program featuring skits and performances by the children of Lund and an impressive Saturday night fireworks display after the rodeo.
“The whole weekend is a celebration of keeping our pioneer heritage alive,” said Ron. “A lot of families that were born and raised here come back. At least one of the founding families has a reunion here every year.”
The rodeo itself is held at 5PM on Friday and Saturday, then at 9AM on Sunday. In addition to bronc and bull riding, barrel racing, roping and steer stopping, the rodeo also features youth events like Gymkhana and mutton bustin’. To help encourage more youth engagement with the rodeo, a new event in 2022 will be mini-bull riding.
“We feel an urgency to keep interest in providing more events for our youth,” said Roy. “We need to keep kids interested in livestock activities because there’s less participation from the youth these days in ranching.”
With the technological advancement of ranching machinery, there aren’t as many opportunities for youth to engage in ranch work. As kids, the Horsley brothers bucked haybales for money. Nowadays a machine can do all the work, and as a result kids aren’t as interested in livestock, agriculture and horse riding anymore. This lack of interest has caused a bit of a generational crisis for the Lund Rodeo.
“The future doesn’t look bright for small rodeos like ours,” said Roy. “The expense to put on a high quality event is getting difficult, and there’s nobody young to take over the reins of running the rodeo. Every time we get tired and want to throw in our hats, we just say ‘one more year’. We don’t want the rodeo to die off any quicker than we do.”
The rodeo has never made a dime, but because of the generosity of Lund Rodeo sponsors and the dedication of event volunteers preparing 11 months out of the year, it continues to function as a centerpiece of Lund’s community. Local businesses like Carter Agriculture Equipment have been instrumental in keeping the rodeo alive financially, as have numerous nearby ranches and other industry support from companies like B&W Trucking and the Robinson Mine.
Besides the challenges of engaging the younger generation, the Lund Rodeo is “a long way from nowhere”, according to Roy, and there are very few local accommodations for participants, so they either need to drive in from Ely or camp somewhere. Most of the spectators have a connection to Lund, either by family or friends.
“A lot of the crowd at the Lund Rodeo are families that grew up here,” said Ron. “They leave, but then later in life come back to revisit their roots. Or after they marry and have kids, they want to come back so their children can experience the life they had. But there’s nothing much to return for to make a living besides working in Ely or on a ranch here in Lund.”
While the future of the Lund Rodeo is uncertain, the pioneer heritage and pride that Lund residents have will never die. For those seeking an authentic rodeo experience, it doesn’t get any more grassroots than the oldest amateur rodeo in Nevada.