Behind the Scenes Look at Summer's Biggest Rodeo
- Chute Help, Inc.
- Jun 25
- 2 min read
with Justin Watada, CEO Greeley Stampede
As we kick off the 2025 Cowboy Christmas Season, we have an inside look at the Greeley Stampede. Chute Help built the Stampede Timed Event Section in 2018. Justin Watada gave us an inside look at what he takes into consideration each year to prepare for one of the biggest 4th of July Rodeos in the country.
How many weeks before the rodeo do you start prepping the equipment (i.e. roping chutes, lead ups, bucking chutes etc.)?
The Stampede Arena is a city facility, so we work with them months before to start the preparation. This year we brought in 300 tons of sand and reset the bucking chutes, so the process started earlier than normal.
How many holding pens for rough stock do you recommend having behind the bucking chutes for performances?
We just finished pulling all the old arena holding pens and built 19 new pens that are better sizes and able to handle the larger stock.
Where do you keep the livestock between performances?
We have pens just north of the arena. We used to have to load them into the semi-trailer to move them, but have since built a temporary stock alley to run them between for the performances.
How often does the tractor work the arena on performance days?
Our grounds crew is top notch. They start working it when the sun comes up, monitor though out the day and are the last to leave for the night.
How many horse stalls do you recommend having in a new facility build? Are they temporary stalls or more permanent?
We currently have 150 permanent stalls. I would recommend 200+ permanent stalls. We do not have any space for temporary stalls.
How long and wide is the arena?
Our arena is 295’ long and 195' wide
Any recommendations on how many contestants get to enter each event? How about how many get put in the performance?
We will have more than 900 contestants compete in Greeley. We put 12 in each perf with the others competing during the 4 days of slack
Do you have any statistics on what event the spectators are most interested in? Or any cool facts about the Stampede?
The majority of our rodeo guests are attending to have a great experience and know that the Stampede brings in the best stock and contestants. We are currently the 16th largest rodeo and plan to continue to increase our purse to stay as one of the largest during Cowboy Christmas. Our arena offers one of best views for rodeo fans as there is not a bad seat in the house.
Don't miss the action at this year's Stampede June 25 - July 6, 2025
