The youngsters did their best to stay on wooly sheep during Mutton Busting contests, while Casperson Mini-Bulls provided the pre-rodeo entertainment on July 3 and 4. There was a lot of rough riding but no serious injuries.
Those attending the rodeo on Fourth of July got the additional bonus of fireworks lightening up the sky as dark settled. But those who attended the other two nights didn’t do too shabby as golden light from the setting sun left the foothills around Hailey swathed in alpenglow.
The Sawtooth Rangers Riding Club have been riding, dancing and rodeoing since 1947—the same year U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall outlined the Marshall Plan to rebuild Western Europe following World War II and aliens were alleged to land at Roswell in a nifty UFO.
They staged their first rodeo—the Wood River Roundup—in 1948. And today it features cowboys and cowgirls in the Intermountain Professional Rodeo Association (IMPRA) who compete for generous cash prizes.