Wickenburg Arizona Gold Rush Days Parade and Senior Pro Rodeo - 12 February 2022

 

Wickenburg is a city about an hour northwest of Phoenix.   They bill themselves as the world capital of team roping and from October to April, there are lots of arenas showcasing just that.

The Gold Rush Days parade is in the morning.   It features horses, carriages, clowns, cars, and more.   

For information on future Gold Rush days parade and Senior Pro Rodeo just click on the photo on the left! 

This might be the biggest parade in Arizona.  It's got a real small town feel.   It reminds me of the parades I remember, especially on the 4th of July, in Concord, a small town in south central Michigan.  

Wickenburg is a small town with small town values and I like it. We got to Wickenburg early, stopped at the Horseshoe Cafe for a big breakfast, then walked over to a good viewing site.   We left our chairs there and I asked a local if it was ok to leave our chairs...  He was a bit surprised at my question and said.. most of these chairs were set up last night.  In other words, nobody will steal them.  

Right after the parade, it was time to make our way to the rodeo arena for the afternoon competition.   By the way, rodeo folks are very patriotic, and that's a good thing obviously.   

Bull riding seems to be the most popular event.   If there are lots of contestants, you might find the rodeo that day will open with bull riding and conclude with bull riding.  Most rodeos I've seen put the bull riding at the end of the day.   And before the bull riding, you'll see the ladies of rodeo in barrel racing. 

 

It's a pretty simple event to watch.  The lady rider will enter from one side of the arena, tripping the electronic timer.  She has three barrels to get around.  Knock over a barrel and it's a five second penalty. Typical scores are 17 seconds and up.  I've seen faster, though.  

That's a quick view on the Wickenburg Arizona Gold Rush Days parade and senior pro rodeo.  By the way, there are always a few participants in this rodeo in their 60s and 70s!  

Until My Next Adventure,

See you on down the road,

Jim Patterson

Click HERE to see parade images.   And, click HERE for rodeo images!