The Sweet Home Rodeo returns to town Saturday afternoon, Aug. 15, with a wide range of western and family activities at 4100 Long St.
Rodeo isn’t new to Sweet Home – not by a long shot.
Last year’s standing room-only rodeo was the first in 13 years at the Sweet Home rodeo grounds, but it was the renewal of a tradition that dates back to 1917, when the Calapooia Roundup (the spelling varies) began drawing huge crowds to a stadium in Crawfordsville.
How huge?
Back in the days when people didn’t have personal entertainment at their fingertips, and when there was a horse in every barn (maybe not literally, but just about), local organizers came up with a plan to put together a show to provide the residents of east Linn County, in the words of the late local historian Mona Waibel, “an opportunity to meet, visit and engage in fast sports related to horses and prowess of competing.”
The Calapooia Roundup became an established local tradition and continued for decades, held in a giant rodeo grounds facility located in Crawfordsville that held, as Waibel described it, “6,000 screaming spectators” and featured a quarter-mile track and covered grandstands.
Local figures, such as Lyle Moss, were mainstays in its operation.
Bob Waibel loved ranch life, helping his parents and raising horses. The family was heavily involved in rodeos and Bob Waibel and his brothers raced ponies at the Calapooia Roundup as teenagers. Waibel was named Best Cowboy at the final rodeo in the Crawfordsville arena.
Long before Bob Waibel, Moss was involved in rodeo from an early age and one of his favorite memories was of the years of the Calapooia Roundup in Crawfordsville. He was just 6 years old when he rode in his first rodeo. Moss competed in bronco riding, calf roping, bull riding, steer wrestling and barrel racing.
According to Mona Waibel, who also participated in some of the activities, the rodeo lasted two days back then and was “one of the outstanding attractions of western Oregon.”
A Grand Mounted Parade, held every day, took riders and their freshly brushed horses through the arena. It drew local saddle clubs from around the valley: the Sweet Home Timber Riders, Brownsville Foothills Riders, Halsey Saddle Club, Scio Buckaroos, the Linn County Mounted Posse, and more.
“It was a really exciting tribute to the good horsemanship of the day – despite the dust that swirled after each,” Waibel recalled. “The purse of prize money was good. Bronc riding, calf roping, bulldogging and bareback racing – all were paid $150 for first place” – equal to about $3,500 in today’s money.
There were fancy roping exhibitions and trick riders performed – Mona Waibel recalled how, as a girl, one of her favorites was the Roman riders, who rode past the crowd between two horses galloping side by side, one foot in the stirrup of each horse.
Dances held after each rodeo performance and during the year provide funds for the rodeo.
The original roundup was eventually discontinued in the mid-1950s, bringing an end to the first major chapter of Sweet Home’s rodeo history.
The tradition was revived decades later through Sweet Home’s Sportsman’s Holiday.
In 1983, organizers of the local Sportsman’s Holiday brought rodeo back to the community. The event initially was held behind Sweet Home High School, before eventually moving to the current rodeo grounds on Long Street.
The 1987 Sportsman’s Holiday Calapooia Roundup attracted nearly 300 contestants, according to a report in The New Era. Record crowds added to the excitement of record entries.
The modern rodeo became an annual community event, with 29 successful runs before rising costs and falling attendance eventually forced the event into a hiatus in 2012.
In 2012, the rodeo was discontinued after expenses climbed to approximately $35,000, according to a report in The New Era.
Last year, local organizers McKenzie Reynolds, Jeana Doll, Erin Barstad, Tom Lewison and Sarita Zanona, operating as Sweet Home Rodeo and Events, brought the the local rodeo back to life.
The revived rodeo was held Aug. 16, featuring the “Hell on Hooves” roughstock tour, along with family activities and live music – all of which return this year.
Gates open at noon this Saturday, Aug. 15, which will attendees to enjoy food vendors, shopping, informational booths, and the free Kidz Korner before the evening’s main event.
Live music will be featured throughout the day, beginning with a performance by Melody Jordan at 3:30 p.m.
The rodeo competition starts at 6 p.m., featuring a return of Hell on Hooves bull and bronc riding, barrel racing and other rodeo favorites, along with Mutton Bustin’ for the kids.
An after-party begins at 8:30 p.m. featuring Trevor Tagle on stage. The after-party is included with rodeo admission, and minors are welcome.
Tickets can be purchased in advance at sweethomerodeo.com or at the gate. Advance purchase is encouraged, as prices will increase on the day of the event. Children ages 2 and under do not require a ticket if seated on a parent’s lap. All ticket sales are final.
The Sweet Home Rodeo combines small-town spirit with professional rodeo action, offering a celebration of western heritage and community entertainment.
For more information or to buy tickets, visit sweethomerodeo.com.