The 70th season of the Cody Nite Rodeo concludes this weekend.
The finals are Friday-Sunday and promises to be an exciting time.
“We've had a great year with plenty of good contestants,” Mo Betta contractor Nikki Tate said. “The finals will be like a big-time rodeo event.”
The finals feature the top 10 point earners during the season in each event.
“The points system has kept interest high,” Tate said. “We've had people returning to earn enough points and compete in the finals.”
The purse for the finals has risen this year.
“We have about $70,000 in prize money they will be competing for,” Tate said. “When you add buckles, prizes are worth about $80,000.”
Tate said the rodeo has rebounded in attendance after a slow start.
“We were down in June because of the bad weather the first 10 days,” she said. “We had one night in June when it snowed.
“But we've made up plenty of ground since then,” she added. “We're just a little down from last year and that was our best year.”
Tate and her husband Maury are winding down the year in Cody.
“We've had another great year in Cody,” Tate said. “The Stampede Board and our sponsors have made this great summer.”
The Tates hope to take some bulls that have been in the Nite Rodeo to the National Finals Rodeo in December.
“We've got a couple of bulls that might make it,” she said. “As an owner that's what you hope to do.
“We have some bulls that if the cowboys stay on, they can earn some really high scores,” she added. “That would be a great way to end the season.”
