Silver Spurs Rodeo
It’s time to dust off the Stetson and round up the family this weekend as it’s again time for the Silver Spurs Rodeo! The Silver Spurs Rodeo is an event where the country’s top cowboys and the most unpredictable livestock mix it up for some entertaining and often exhilarating action. Rodeo fans enjoy events such as bull riding, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, bareback riding and barrel racing. There’s also some cowboy clowns to please the crowd.
The Silver Spurs Rodeo was founded by the Silver Spurs Riding Club in 1944 to promote good horsemanship and good fellowship in Osceola County. It has grown to become one of the most successful rodeos in the country, the largest rodeo east of the Mississippi and is ranked annually among the top 50 events sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
Held for years in an outdoor arena, the Silver Spurs Rodeo has a new home — the high-tech Silver Spurs Arena, located at Osceola Heritage Park. The one-year-old multi-million dollar indoor facility is climate-controlled with the latest state-of-the-art, high-tech lighting and audio — the ultimate in rodeo watching comfort.
Kissimmee’s Cattle Country History
Most people who visit Kissimmee come to the area to visit Central Florida’s theme parks so they are more than a bit surprised to find that cattle ranches, rodeos and cowboys still continue to play such a big part in the area’s culture. All of these were around long before Mr. Disney came to town and changed the Central Florida landscape forever.
It was back in the 1500’s, when Spanish explorers landed on the coast of Florida with their ships loaded with everything they needed to tame a new territory, including cattle. They often found that crossing the watery swamps of Central Florida was a treacherous occupation and very often a few head of cattle wandered away as the travelers became bogged down. Despite these dangerous conditions the lost cattle managed to survived and even multiply. Moving forward some 200 years later, the area’s next settlers found the plains of the Kissimmee River Valley overrun with herds of wild cows. Stories are told of early residents in downtown Kissimmee fencing their yards to keep the wild cows out and while these animals undoubtedly caused some headaches for Osceola’s early pioneer families, the cattle also provided a valuable food source.
Today, that cowboy way of life still continues and every week local cowboys and cowgirls entertain themselves by competeing in action-packed, all-American events like bull riding, calf roping and barrel racing at the Kissimmee Sports Arena’s Friday Night Rodeo. Twice a year, however, the action is kicked into high gear at the Silver Spurs Rodeo where the country’s toughest cowboys go head-to-head with the country’s nastiest bulls and saddle broncs. The 127th PRCA Silver Spurs Rodeo bucks into action today and tomorrow, June 4-5 at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. It costs just $15 per person, plus kids 10 and under are free, and gains you entrance into one of the original extreme sports that will be sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.
All of the traditional rodeo events at the official state rodeo of Florida will get underway on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Events such as bull riding, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, and barrel racing, along with crowd-pleasing cowboy clowns, will all take place during each performance.
You can lasso your tickets in advance by visiting www.silverspursrodeo.com or call (407)-67RODEO.
Information and Directions
The 120-acre Osceola Heritage Park, which includes the Silver Spurs Arena, Osceola County Stadium, the Exhibition Building, Outdoor Pavillion, KVLS Pavillion and University of Florida Extension Services has been developed as a showplace of facilities that honor and celebrates the Kissimmee-St. Cloud community and its agricultural and cattle ranching heritage.
The Silver Spurs Rodeo is located at the Silver Spurs Arena, 1875 Silver Spur Lane, Kissimmee. The Silver Spurs Arena is located within the Osceola Heritage Park off Highway 192 east of Kissimmee.
