Saddle Up for Fallon Junior Rodeo Labor Day Weekend

The Fallon Junior Rodeo returns Labor Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 30 and 31. The event carries forward a local tradition that began with the Fallon Lions Club Stampede and 49ers Day in the late 1940s, which continued uninterrupted, except during the COVID-19 pandemic. Early celebrations featured festival activities, a semi-pro rodeo, auto racing, country western music, a parade, and more, with groups such as the Kiwanis, Eagles, VFW, National Guard, and Boy Scouts serving as vendors. When Churchill County built the current fairgrounds, the design was influenced, and donations from the Lions Club and local rodeo associations partially funded construction. The Dry Gulch remains a holdover from the original grounds.

As the community’s ability to support a semi-pro rodeo on Labor Day changed, the Junior Rodeo Association partnered with the Lions Club to keep the tradition alive. The Lions have shifted their focus to other community projects in recent years, and the Fallon Junior Rodeo Association has expressed gratitude for years of support, continuing to carry the Labor Day rodeo forward.

The rodeo weekend kicks off with the queen contest on Friday, Aug. 29, starting with contestant check-in at 5 p.m., and introductions, speeches, and the horsemanship contest at 6 p.m. The coronation will be held Saturday during the rodeo’s lunch break, and the presentation ride will take place during Sunday’s grand entry. 

Junior Rodeo contestants range in age from 6 to 18, with events for both boys and girls. Events include steer daubing, team roping, pole bending, run, ride and lead, barrel racing, goat tying, calf riding, sack roping, breakaway roping, chute dogging, steer stopping, steer riding, and a second calf riding division. For littler contestants ages 0–5, they have a chance to compete in the dummy roping, figure eight run, goat un-decorating, mutton busting, and stick horse racing. The awards ceremony will take place immediately after the event concludes on Sunday.

Mark your calendars and plan to cheer on the next generation of cowboys and cowgirls.