Only in Elko
The Silver State Stampede is the oldest rodeo in Nevada.
“So, what brings you to Salt Lake City,” the airport shuttle driver asked me while muscling my many bags and camera cases into the vehicle.
“Actually, I’m headed to Nevada for a weekend getaway,” I replied.
“Vegas and Reno both have airports. Why in the world would you fly here?” he wondered.
This is an all too familiar conversation I have with shuttle drivers each time I go to Nevada. It’s a logical assumption that I’m traveling to Vegas and Reno, as most Nevada-bound vacationers make those cities their destinations. But this cowgirl is not like most. The sagebrush-dotted high desert of northern Nevada calls my name.
When I told the shuttle driver I was headed to Elko, he furrowed his brows and said, “Why?”
I could tell he just didn’t get it and this conversation would go nowhere, so I replied, “Oh, just to attend a little rodeo,” and left it at that.
That little rodeo was the Silver State Stampede, held July 8-10, at the Elko County Fairgrounds. The oldest rodeo in Nevada, the Silver State Stampede was started by legendary bit and spur maker G.S. Garcia in 1913. The gear maker’s legacy continues at the rodeo, with winners of each event receiving a pair of ornate Garcia spurs.
I’d heard buzz about this rodeo for years, so I decided to pack my bags and take a little trip to see what it was all about. The event offered all the slice-of-life charm I appreciate from a small-town rodeo, and surprisingly attracted some of the top competitors in the PRCA. But the rodeo’s wild, Old West ways made it a real cowboy’s rodeo in my mind.
Since 2003, the Silver State Stampede has differentiated itself from other PRCA-sanctioned rodeos by adding ranch bronc riding to its lineup of events. The contest brings 20 working cowboys and buckaroos, mostly from Idaho, Oregon and Nevada, off the their remote ranches and into town to vie for a stash of cash and prizes. It also draws huge local crowds who know and respect these hands, and come primarily to see them compete. Unlike PRCA saddle-bronc riders, Old West bronc riders use their everyday working saddles and can hold on to a rope or nightlatch. That doesn’t give them much advantage though against stock contractor Wally Blossom’s rank, reservation-raised broncs.
Eli Burr won the ranch bronc riding. "I ride each bronc as an individual," he says. "I ususally don't remember one from the other."
This year, the Western States Ranch Rodeo Association (wsrra.org) sanctioned the Old West Bronc Riding. The WSRRA will hold its inaugural championship event this November in Winnemucca, Nevada. Cowboys have competed all year, trying to earn points to qualify for the finals, which I’m told is going to be a great event.
Western Horseman sponsored the bronze trophy at the Silver State Stampede for the Old West Bronc Riding, which is appropriately a cast of Frederic Remington’s sculpture Bronco Buster. The trophy will remain on permanent display at an undetermined venue in Elko, and each year the winner of the bronc riding will have his or her name added to it.
I proudly presented the trophy to this year’s winner, Eli Burr, a buckaroo on the Y-3 near Jackpot, Nevada. Burr, who also won the contest in 2003, scored 73 points in the first round and an 82 in the championship round. He took home a pair of Garcia spurs donated by J.M. Capriola Co., a trophy buckle from Skyline Silversmiths and more than $1,000. Pretty good money to supplement cowboy wages.
A friend described Burr to me as a “bedroll” cowboy, and it fits him to a tee. Raised in Victor, Idaho, he set out to buckaroo right out of high school, working on outfits in Nevada, Oregon and Utah. Moving from ranch to ranch was a way of life for many years, but now the 27-year-old cowboy says he’s reaching a point in his life where he’d like to stay put for a while. However, he added, he still likes to see different places.
“When I started out all I had was a single-cab pickup and a bedroll, so it was easy to pack up and go to the next place,” he says. “Now I have a crew-cab pickup, stock trailer and five horses, which makes it more of a hassle to move.”
I had the honor of presenting Eli Burr with a bronze sponsored by Western Horseman. The trophy will remain in Elko, and Burr's name will be added among the other bronc-riding winners.
His entire life, Burr aspired to be a working cowboy and bronc rider. He competed in saddle bronc riding in high school, but had limited success. Once he discovered ranch bronc riding, though, where he could ride in his ranch saddle, he was hooked. It’s hard for a working cowboy to leave his duties on the ranch, but Burr tries to hit as many ranch bronc riding competitions as he can. The contests have become popular in Idaho, Oregon, California and Nevada, so there are plenty of opportunities for ranch cowboys to meet for some friendly competition, showcase their skills and win some extra gear and money.
Besides the Old West Bronc Riding, the Silver State Stampede also has a team-branding competition, mutton busting for the kids, a trade show, and a live band and dance each night. At the conclusion of each round, the “Ring of Fear” is held. Those brave (or crazy!) enough to enter, go into a pen where a bull is turned loose. Each contestant stands inside a flour circle and “battles” the bull till there’s only one person left standing in his or her circle. I’d never seen anything like this and was standing on my chair to rise above the crowd to see it. What a way to end an already action-packed rodeo!
The Silver State Stampede exceeded my expectations, and was a good reminder that in this age of pyrotechnics and stage-show rodeos, there’s still a bit of the real West left. I just have to go to Elko to find it.
~Jennifer