May 22 2009
September 15-18, 2010
PENDLETON, Ore. – Tickets for the 100th Pendleton Round-Up, Sept. 15-18, 2010, will go on sale at 8:30 a.m. on July 31, 2009. Round-Up Director Troy LeGore said the decision was made because of widespread interest in purchasing tickets for the 2010 Round-Up from around the world.
“The demand has been big,” LeGore said. “We’ve had Round-Up supporters from the United Kingdom and Australia who wanted to purchase them while they were here in 2008.” Normally tickets for the next year’s Round-Up go on sale slightly before the current rodeo. This sale date is for the general public, permanent ticket order procedures for the 2010 Round-Up have not been changed.
The 100th Round-Up will have added attractions each day that only those who hold tickets can enjoy. Although the plans are still being worked out, Round-Up Director Tim Hawkins believes they should be able to tackle the logistics of each event.
The American Indian traditional hide race will return after years’ of absence to the arena on Wednesday of the 100th Round-Up. Hawkins said six teams will participate in this event, which involves a rider racing the length of the arena, where a teammate stands with an elk hide. The rider returns to his starting point dragging the elk hide which holds his partner.
Thursday will mark the return of the Wild Horse Race, consisting of eight to 10 teams. On Friday the old-fashioned serpentine, featuring 200 to 300 horses and riders will be reenacted. The planners are also tentatively hoping to stage the long-departed stage coach races on Saturday if they can find enough coaches.
The last day of the centennial celebration will include snub bucking, basically riding a saddle bronc without the use of entry gates. Three horses are tethered, or snubbed, in the grass and saddled. Three riders, dressed in the wooly chaps made famous by American Indian rodeo great Jackson Sundown will mount their appointed horses and then ride simultaneously in the arena.
Hawkins said many other special events are planned for the 100th anniversary, as 25 committees are working hard to make the 2010 rodeo unforgettable. He said one plan is to get stock that is the “cream of the cream” interspersed among the “really good stock” Round-Up already offers.
“We’re going to have a lot of things that people haven’t seen before – things that will make them want to come back,” he said.
LeGore said that ticket prices haven’t been set, but if there are any increases it won’t be because it’s the centennial year.
“Round-Up is trying to slowly bring its prices up to what other similar events are charging without gouging our fans,” he said.
Tickets for the 2010 Round-Up can be purchased beginning July 31 by calling (541) 276-2553 or (800) 457-6336 or at the office on Southwest Court Avenue. They will also be available at www.ticketmaster.com in June of 2010.
