ROCK SPRINGS — The Sweetwater Events Complex is preparing once again to host the
National High School Finals Rodeo, this year from July 15-21. Staff at the Events
Complex have learned several lessons from previous NHSFRs that they have hosted,
starting with their first experience in 2012.

For starters, the NHSFR still requires a small army of volunteers, but EC staff members
have learned how to use volunteers more efficiently. There turned out to be not as great a
need for volunteers the first night of check-in as had been thought.

“We don’t have (volunteers) standing around with nothing to do as much now,” Events
Complex Marketing & Events Manager Kandi Pendleton said. “We tweak the volunteer
hours every year and I’m sure we will again this year. We’re scheduling volunteers better
during the peak hours on Saturday.”

There are also more participants and their families coming to this year’s NHSFR than in
the past. Approximately 1,750 rodeo competitors will be coming this year, with families
in tow, representing what Pendleton said was 9% increase over 2012.

Fitting ‘em in with a shoehorn

With the increased numbers and the knowledge gained from experience, traffic flow has
been reconfigured from past NHSFRs, when all of the competitor arrivals headed in the
same direction—ahead, Maintenance Coordinator Drew Dunn said. Now rodeo competitor recreational vehicles are routed back to Yellowstone Road toward the campground.

Speaking of which, rodeo participants from different states are grouped together more,
Marketing & Events Coordinator Lena Warren said.

That isn’t always easy. Dunn explained that spaces for each RV or trailer can get to be
rather tight, if competitors and their families are to be grouped according to state
delegations.

“We’ve sometimes had to install some of the smaller trailers into their sites with a
forklift.”

— Maintenance Coordinator Drew Dunn

Altogether, there ate 1,230 campsites at the EC grounds, according to Office Manager
Erika Koshar.

There are also more campground restrooms available, Dunn added. Each trailer or RV
usually has its own small restroom. However, with many rodeo contestants traveling with their families, which may have three or four kids, RV and trailer restrooms can get
overwhelmed, Dunn explained, thus the need for the added exterior restroom facilities.

Horses should find more space than in the past. The EC has 1,080 permanent stalls;
however a total 1,950 stalls will be on hand when the NHSFR comes to town, compared
with 1,400 stalls in 2012.

Part of the explanation for the increased number of stalls, and
competitors, is related to the working horse competition, which was not a part of the 2012
rodeo.

The Sweetwater Events Complex is in the process of finishing a $3 million stall upgrade
project, with $2.5 million of that money coming from the Wyoming Business Council
and the remaining $500,000 match coming from the Sweetwater County Board of
Commissioners.

Locals, please come

In 2012, local residents from Rock Springs and Green River had been incorrectly and
inappropriately discouraged from coming to the NHSFR competitions due to traffic
concerns, Pendleton said.

She referenced a news report back then indicating that local law enforcement had expressed concerns about traffic congestion on Yellowstone Road and in the Grandstand parking lot.

Not now, and not ever, Pendleton said. The expected congestion on Yellowstone Road
never developed to the extent anticipated.

Moreover, “there are plenty of parking spaces,” Pendleton added. Thus, there is no reason for local residents to stay away and Pendleton said that the Events Complex wants and encourages area residents to come and enjoy the NHSFR competitions.

Kids 12 and under are admitted free during the morning competition sessions.

One change from past years that spectators will see is that the ticket booth is now at the
Grandstand all during the NHSFR rather than being inside at the EC office or the Exhibit
Hall early in the week.

“When tickets were being sold at the office, Kandi was so busy that she didn’t really have
time to do hardly anything else,” Warren said.

“So now we keep the ticket booth outside all the time,” Pendleton added.

Benches will be available for rodeo goers, Warren explained. “The grounds look great.
Benches will be placed around the grounds and pathways so that people can just sit and
relax for a moment.” She added that food vendors will be easier to get to.

“We found out that we don’t need as much space for vendors,” Koshar said.
There will also be better air conditioning (in the merchant vendor tents), with the tents a
little more open, Warren declared.

With merchant vendors only needing two tents, Pendleton said, the smallest tent will be
used as a recreational zone for rodeo participants

A mistake that will not be repeated

In 2012, the Events Complex made one very egregious mistake by not having a high
enough fence enclosing the cows for the rodeo. Many of the cows escaped from
confinement and wound up wandering around the White Mountain Golf Course.

“Yes, the cows left ‘calling cards’ on the golf course,” Pendleton said. “We had cowboys
out on the golf course trying to round up all of the cows.”

Lesson learned. “We have higher fences now,” Pendleton declared.
.

Pride taken in NHSFR

Lessons learned from the past have been and will be put to good use at the 2018 National
High School Finals Rodeo. “Sure, we’ve gone to Gillette (which hosted the last two
years’ NHSFRs and also several prior years), but until you’re the ones actually doing it,
you don’t really know until you’re in the thick of it,” Pendleton declared.

“Sweetwater County takes great pride in hosting the National High School Finals
Rodeo,” Warren said, “and we want the community and the rodeo participants to have a
great experience.”

Wyoming HS Rodeo Finals

Everyone can get a preview of sorts of the NHSFR when the Sweetwater Events
Complex hosts the Wyoming High School Finals Rodeo June 4-10.

Various competitions are slated to start on the days following June 4 check-in. Grandstand events are slated to start on June 7.

Refer to the Events Complex website here for further information about actual competition days and times.