Founded in 1910 and held annually each September, the Pendleton Round-Up is one of the longest-running and prestigious rodeos in the country. One that the best cowboys and cowgirls in the world travel to each year, along with rodeo fans by the hundreds of thousands.
Midway through the century-old rodeo’s history, a Eugene, Oregon, newspaper offered a description of the Round-Up that has since always rung true:
“In good times and bad, Pendleton has gone on with the Round-Up. People over on the Umatilla have always been willing to take a chance. Maybe that’s the real cowboy spirit. Maybe it’s a little bit tougher brand of civic spirit. Anyhow, in Pendleton, the show goes on.”
We all hope that this year will be no different. Even as other rodeos and large events across the country continue to cancel due to concerns around the Coronavirus, we hold out hope that the chutes of its historic outdoor grass arena in Pendleton, Oregon, will fly open come September — and the Round-Up has planned to do just that.
The rodeo committee initially published a statement addressing the current pandemic, stating:
The global spread of COVID-19 is affecting every one of us. As the situation continues to unfold, we felt it was important to connect with you directly.Nothing is more important to us than the safety and well-being of all of you, our community, our Staff/Directors and families. We are taking the necessary steps to stay informed and engaged with the Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization guidance for preventing and reducing the spread of COVID-19.
We are staying up to date with all the information, and planning accordingly. As of now we’d like to take the time to reassure our community that the Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon have our sights set on celebrating our 110th anniversary in September.
But today, the Pendleton Round-Up announced that ticket mailings have been delayed in a Facebook post that read:
With everyone’s best interest in mind, we have delayed sending out any advanced orders at this time for the 2020 Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon, as well as invoices for PBR and Kick-off concert. Planning continues for all of our September events this year, but we are moving forward cautiously. With so many changes happening, we decided that it would be best to postpone mailing tickets for a few more weeks. If the event is required to be cancelled, notifications will be sent out informing you of your options for refunds.
Now less than 110 days away from the kick off of the 110th Pendleton Round-Up, scheduled to take place September 16-19, we can only hope state guidelines will allow the rodeo to “Let ‘Er Buck.”