| Description: | From 32nd annual Andy Devine Days PRCA Rodeo Website: The chutes will open at the Mohave County Fairgrounds in Kingman for the 32nd Annual Andy Devine Days PRCA Rodeo on September 24 and 25, 2016 with cowboys competing in Saddleback and Bareback Bronc Riding, Calf Wrestling, Steer Wrestling, Bull Riding and Team Roping - all PRCA sanctioned events.
The schedule also includes Womens Barrel Racing and Junior Barrel Racing, which are WPRA sanctioned, and classic rodeo entertainment such as professional rodeo clowns and a calf dressing competition.
Even though the Andy Devine Days Rodeo is a smaller rodeo, it pulls in many talented bronc and bull riding cowboys. It's held the last weekend for rodeo contestants to qualify for NFR (Nation Finals Rodeo) held in Las Vages. And with the arena placed right up at the grandstands for the second year, it offers spectators a fantastic view of the action!
The Saturday evening performance last year was a sell-out event! So organizers are sticking to a Saturday evening rodeo again in 2016, kicking off at 6pm and continuing until around 9 in the evening. Immediately following is an old fashioned barn dance in the main building behind the grand stands, with live music, food and a bar.
Tickets will be available at the Kingman Visitor Center, located in Kingman's Historic Powerhouse at 120 W. Andy Devine Ave. In 2015, adult (12 years and up) pre-sale tickets were $12 ($15 at the gate) and a child's pre-sale ticket was $10 ($12 at the gate), children under four were free. Check back for 2016 Rodeo ticket pricing. For more information, visit the Kingsmen online. Tickets will also be available at Boot Barn, both Kingman Mohave State Banks locations, Stockton Hill Feed, Martin Swanty Dodge, Wells Fargo Bank Downtown branch and at all of the Western Week evens events leading up to the Rodeo.
The Rodeo continues to coincide with the Best of the West on Route 66 Festival, hosting car shows and entertainment in Historic Downtown Kingman. So come out and celebrate a long-running Kingman tradition of cowboys and classic cars!
Some History: Articles of rodeos around Kingman go back as early as the 1880s, especially taking place at surrounding ranches during round-ups. But Kingman hosted its first organized Labor Day rodeo in 1919. The second annual rodeo in 1920 had purses totaling nearly $4,000 (nearly $50,000 in 2015 dollars). In the 1930s to early 1950s it was Dig-n-Dogie Days Rodeo, a celebration of ranching and mining skills, as was famously described in A Guide Book to Highway 66. That festival eventually phased out as more area mines closed.
When rodeos became big entertainment across the nation in the 1960's and 70's, the Jaycees brought rodeoing back to Kingman with Los Comaneros Rodeo, Kingmans first PRA (then PRCA) sanctioned rodeo. In 1985, the Rodeo was incorporated into the Andy Devine Days celebration, to bring back a flavor of Dig-N-Dogie days and western, cowboy, small town heritage.
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