Hall of Fame’s 45th Anniversary

ProRodeo Hall of Fame prepares to celebrate 45 years

The ProRodeo Hall of Fame will officially turn 45 on August 6, but the celebration begins this week. A rodeo clown reunion kicks off the week-long schedule of events on Friday, Aug. 2. The celebration continues from Aug. 5 through 9 with daily presentations, demonstrations, rodeo film premiers and appearances.

Saturday, Aug. 10, is a free admission day at the museum for an Open House featuring entertainment, food trucks, cowboy poetry, trick roping and whip cracking, a petting zoo, a bouncy house, a mechanical bull and a vendor fair among other activities. At 6 pm an Exhibition Rodeo will be held free of charge in the Hall of Fame arena on the grounds and a food truck will be available.

Earlier this summer, the Hall opened its new exhibit, “45 Years of Memories.” The exhibit, in the 101 Gallery, celebrates the Hall of Fame's 45 years of preserving rodeo history and telling the stories of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s champions and legends.

“It is an exciting exhibit, detailing the 45 year history of this museum,” said Kent Sturman, Director. “The timeline featuring major milestones for the Hall includes photographs of each class of inductees by year. The exhibit also features the many head of bucking bulls and horses that have spent time in the Hall of Fame Barn over the years.”

Items featured in the gallery include unique pieces from the Hafley-Shelton Wild West Collection, the Ralph Ardourel Bit and Spur Collection, the Barrel Racing Clothes of Gayle Bannon, Rodeo Clown memorabilia, and masterpieces of art including sculptures and paintings. The exhibit will be available in the 101 Gallery until September.

The “45 Years of Memories” exhibit kicks off the anniversary year and will help promote the 45th Anniversary Celebration, Open House, and Exhibition Rodeo to be held in August. The celebration will officially begin on Friday, August 2 with the Rodeo Clown Reunion where over 40 retired and active rodeo clowns will be featured at the Hall throughout the day. Activities planned for this first day include autograph sessions, clown act performances, magic tricks, clown storytelling, a clown dress up contest for kids, and much more. On August 3 and 4, the clowns will be appearing at the Douglas County Fair and PRCA Rodeo in Castle Rock, CO.

Anniversary activities continue daily at the Hall of Fame Monday through Friday, August 5-9 with demonstrations, performances, film premiers and educational presentations. On Wednesday, August 6, the Little Champions Youth Program will be offered. Also on August 6, the Hall of Fame will roll back admission prices to what they were when the museum opened on August 6  1979. Throughout this week of anniversary events, the Hall will feature showings of several rodeo documentaries and feature length films in a “rodeo film festival” atmosphere.

The celebration will conclude on Saturday, August 10 with a free open house at the museum from 9 am to 5 pm. An Exhibition Rodeo will be held on Saturday at 6 pm in the Hall’s Ed Honnen Priefert Arena. This full day of fun will feature music, cowboy poetry, equine drill teams, children’s activities, free anniversary cake, autograph sessions, vendors, food trucks and much, much more. The day will conclude with the Exhibition Rodeo produced by award-winning PRCA Stock Contractors Cervi Championship Rodeo.

“We are excited to plan and execute this milestone anniversary,” said Sturman. “As a museum and hall of fame, we have a lot to celebrate and honor. We are proud of our history and want to share our successes with the fans and museum visitors. There is so much rich history to preserve and stories to tell. We have been at home here in Colorado Springs for 45 years and it has been an amazing ride. We want to celebrate with the community that has supported us all these years. We hope the community will join us in this fun celebration.”

A complete schedule of events and activities is available at www.prorodeohalloffame.com.