Washington County celebrating 50th county rodeo this weekend

WASHINGTON CO., Ks. - Not every organization, business, or event can say they’ve reached their 50th year, but a Washington County, KS. event is set to meet that milestone this weekend.

A summer tradition in the northeast Kansas town is the Washington County Rodeo which began in the early 1970’s. Now, the event is set for the big 5-0. Rachel Footit is the Marketing Coordinator for the rodeo and says the event is going all out for the milestone.

“We’re going to take a lot of pride and show off a lot of new things this weekend to be able to support or western heritage and show off the rodeo world,” Footit said. “We’re going to bring this community together and have a great weekend with a lot of fun.”

The rodeo has events from bare back riding, to bull riding and steer wrestling. The wide range of events is one of many reasons Footit credits to success for 50 years. She also credits the community aspect of the event.

“I think just the collaboration of being a community and showing something different to offer,” Footit said. “I think the way in which our arena is set up and the way we offer different events and attributes, it brings the community together and allows everyone to have a really good time.”

Footit says the goal of the event is to give notoriety to the cowboys and cowgirls competing, and the rodeo community as a whole.

“I hope we can, with this event, showcase to as many as we can, that rodeo is important,” Footit said. “There are a lot of cowboys and cowgirls out there, tier competing in an arena, or back at their ranch, so I hope with this event, we can bring the community together in that way.”

The rodeo kicks off on Friday night, going on through Saturday.