After the 2020 Caldwell Night Rodeo was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rodeo’s staff had some extra time on their hands. So, they decided to start digging through archives to get a more complete understanding of their history.
They never could have imagined the shocking discovery they made: The date they listed as their first rodeo was wrong. Instead of the 1935 date they had believed to be their first year, they discovered it actually started in 1924.
“We technically aged (11) years during COVID,” jokes Caldwell Night Rodeo president Robb Vavold. “Then all of a sudden, we realized ‘hey we got a 100-year celebration right around the corner, we got to get going.’ So, it sort of just snuck up on us. I was not originally slated to be the president for the 100-year anniversary, but that’s just how she rolled and I’m super honored and privileged to do it.”
Four years after discovering the upcoming centennial anniversary, the Caldwell Night Rodeo will celebrate it as the competition gets underway Tuesday at the Rodeo Fairgrounds. There will be competition every night leading up to Saturday’s final.