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St. Paul Rodeo Returns

The Nation’s Greatest Fourth of July Rodeo

Callie DuPerier, the 2015 St. Paul Rodeo barrel racing champion, rounds the barrels at the 2015 St. Paul Rodeo. The rodeo is known as the Nation’s Greatest Fourth of July Rodeo. Photo by Hoot Creek.

Callie DuPerier, the 2015 St. Paul Rodeo barrel racing champion, rounds the barrels at the 2015 St. Paul Rodeo. The rodeo is known as the Nation’s Greatest Fourth of July Rodeo. Photo by Hoot Creek.

St. Paul, Ore. (May 31, 2016) – The Fourth of July tradition isn’t complete without a trip to the St. Paul, Oregon Rodeo.

Every Fourth of July holiday, the small farming town of St. Paul, Oregon, swells to 1,000 times its normal population.

That’s when the annual St. Paul Rodeo takes place, and 50,000 people swarm into the town of 400 to enjoy PRCA rodeo, a Wild West Art Show, the Great Western Barbecue Cook-off, the famous Tack Room Saloon, carnival, and a half-dozen other events that are traditions alongside the rodeo.

St. Paul is a tiny farming town twenty miles north of Salem and 30 miles southwest of Portland, with some of the most fertile irrigated farm ground in the state. Farmers raise a variety of crops including grapes, grass seed, hazelnuts, peppermint, vegetable crops, nursery stock, and an abundance of hops, which supports the growing demand for the ever popular micro-brew beer industry.

And from that humble setting comes one of the PRCA’s biggest and best rodeos.

It all began in 1935 when eight local farmers and businessmen came up with the idea for the St. Paul Rodeo. The city park was used for the arena and local farmers, including the first president of the St. Paul Rodeo Association, Willie Smith, used horses from their farms for bucking horses.

Now, eighty-plus years later, the St. Paul Rodeo is a major destination for contestants and rodeo fans alike. It is a Gold Tour Stop amongst the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour Rodeo Series. This past year, the St. Paul Rodeo paid out over $400,000 to the winning cowboys and cowgirls. Many world champions, current and past, have competed in St. Paul on their way to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. And the rodeo makes sure to have the best livestock and contract personnel, in order to attract the best contestants and give fans a great entertainment experience.

One thing that stands out in the St. Paul Rodeo arena is the trees. Three feet tall arbor vitae, a mainstay in the arena, were originally used to mark the quarter-mile track. Now they are a source of entertainment for rodeo clowns. In the past, rodeo clowns have hurdled the trees, to the amusement of fans, and team ropers know if their steer gets past the trees, their time won’t win them a check.

For the 50,000 fans who make their way to St. Paul every Fourth of July, the rodeo is the big attraction. But there’s so much more: fireworks following each nightly performance (not just on the Fourth), western art, barbecue, chicken dinners, strawberry shortcake (with locally grown berries), a parade on the Fourth, and other events.

The St. Paul Rodeo Association welcomes the world to its little town over the Fourth of July to enjoy a piece of the Wild West and all the pageantry, tradition, history and excitement of pro rodeo!

The 2016 event is June 30-July 4, with the PBR on June 30 and nightly rodeo performances July 1-4. A matinee rodeo performance takes place July 4 at 1:30 pm. Tickets are on sale online and range in price from $16 to $26. For more information on the rodeo, visit the website at StPaulRodeo.com or call the rodeo office at 800.237.5920.

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