The eighth annual de Golyer Bucking Horse and Bull Bash returns Saturday at the 3C Complex at the Churchill County Fairgrounds with the action at the Fairview Arena, formerly the outdoor arena.
Hosting rodeo events since 2014, the de Golyer family continues to be in awe of the community’s support, including sponsorship from local businesses, which makes this weekend one of the summer staples in the Lahontan Valley.
“What has made the rodeo successful each and every year is the fact that we continue to produce this event and the blood, sweat and tears we pour into all the events we have produced for our community,” said Cody de Golyer, who puts on the event with his wife, Kristina, and gets help from their 3-year-old son, Stetson. “The community has responded well to it, in fact they look forward to it knowing it only happens once a year. The sponsors always continue to want to be a part of it, it's an affordable way for them to advertise their business and a fun event to support.”
The eighth annual de Golyer Bucking Horse and Bull Bash rodeo event returns to the 3C Complex at the Churchill County Fairgrounds with the action at the Fairview Arena, formerly the outdoor arena.
Gates open at 5 p.m. on Saturday at the outdoor arena followed by the rodeo at 6 p.m. and a performance by White Water, a band from Reno. On Friday from 7-11 p.m., there will be a barbecue and barn dance at the Dry Gulch.
Tickets for the rodeo are $10 and are being sold at the Big R stores in Fallon, Fernley, Sparks and Winnemucca. For the Friday dance and barbecue, tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. Local band Stillwater Legends will perform on Friday.
Events for the rodeo include mutton bustin, calf riding, junior steer riding, team roping, wild cow, milking, barrel racing, breakaway, bronc riding and bull riding. Entries to the events closed on Monday.
This weekend will be the first time since pre-pandemic that the event will be held without restrictions. After it was canceled in 2020, the de Golyers brought it back last summer but they had only four weeks to pull it off. They had doubts because of everything that needed to be done in less than a month but the event returned in grand fashion.
“We wondered if people would want to be right next to each other, would sponsors take the risk, would people show up?” Cody de Golyer said. “And it happened. Everyone was on board. People got excited to be working again. We were full of contestants and the spectators came out in masses to support our local hometown rodeo. We were back in business. In fact, both of our events last year proved to us that our community wants rodeo and that was our whole goal when we started this back in 2014.”
In addition to the rodeo, there will be a free kids zone, raffle, craft vendors, food trucks and Troy's Double Shot Bar. White Water will also perform after the rodeo, which is included in the ticket purchase.
“These events we produce for our community are very near and dear to us. It is just us two arranging everything on top of everyday life,” Kristina de Golyer said. “Cody has his roles and I have mine. We have learned over the last almost decade that you have to be a ‘team’ and we have accomplished that. We know what it takes to build an event of this magnitude and it is a goal of ours to keep creating rodeos in Fallon because it’s our hometown. Everyone deserves to take your family out and have a great time, but not go home broke."
