Page 183 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL FALL 2024 SPAIN

It was back in 1938 that a Cody cowboy
launched the “Pup Rodeo” for amateur rid-
ers and ropers throughout the West who
wanted to have some fun, hone their skills –
and compete for maybe enough money to
cover their travel expenses. That rodeo,
now called the Cody Nite Rodeo, became
the proving ground for many who became
world champion rodeo stars. The fun con-
tinues today – kicking up a rollicking dust
storm every night from June 1 through Au-
gust.
I’m a SoCal gal – from a city where lo-
cals protest rodeos and urge lawmakers to
prohibit them. It had been a half century or
more since I last attended a rodeo – now a
faded childhood memory of my sisters and
me on family vacation somewhere, allowed
up past our bedtime to watch bucking
broncos. We girls loved horses, but these
weren’t steeds we could pet – or even get
close to.
For the Cody Nite Rodeo’s season
opener, I wrangled a backstage pass – and
it allowed me to get very close.