ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

August has arrived, and for a little more than a decade in Seward County, that means it is rodeo time.

The Seward County PRCA Rodeo is back for its 12th edition Aug. 14 and 15, and with the rodeo coming amidst the celebration of America’s 250 years of independence, Seward County Rodeo Association (SCRA) Secretary/Treasurer Renee Haralson said organizers thought it would be a good time to honor some of the nation’s military.

“It’s been a while since we did that,” she said. “We did that early on. We’re going to honor the military both nights in both performances.”

Barrel man Matt Tarr is back for this year’s rodeo, as are the River City Renegades, who will be running in the flags for each night’s performance.

Haralson said other favorites will be back this year as well.

“We still have our mutton bustin,” she said. “We still have our kids boot scramble. We’ll have the parade on Saturday. We’re still doing the Man Up, so wear your purple on Saturday.”

Before the 2025 PRCA, the rodeo arena at the Seward County Fairgrounds received a new set of bleachers, giving fans more than a few extra seats at the event. The 2024 rodeo saw many fans aggravated about not having a place to sit, with many not wanting to come back, but SCRA member C.J. Wettstein said the new bleachers have been a nice addition to the arena.

“Last year, we were a little concerned because we a gained a little more than 1,200 seats with the new bleacher,” he said. “We were a little concerned it might look empty. We were 75 percent full on Friday night. Saturday night, I got pictures from it, and all of the bleachers were completely full. We still had people down on the ground.”

“I don’t know where all these people came from, but please come back,” Haralson said.

“We don’t know where they came from, but we hope they return again,” Wettstein said.

Seeing the stands packed for Saturday night’s closing performance created much excitement for organizers, according to Haralson.

“We were just hoping they’d fill up and look like they were full, and it was jam packed,” she said. “It was really nice because these are handicap accessible now. There’s 10 spots across the front for wheelchairs. They were full. We were able to accommodate everyone.”

Wettstein said elderly and handicapped spectators were protected and out of the dirt that usually found past fans sitting in during the rodeo.

“Everything was nice,” he said. “They could see real well. It was really nice having those bleachers available to use.”

Wettstein said new concrete parking outside the grandstand walls for handicapped rodeo fans made for a nice addition as well.

“For your elderly, it’s easier for them to walk in there,” Haralson said of the new bleachers and parking at the rodeo arena. “We were pretty pleased with the county to do all of that for us.”

In the past, a concert has been part of the fun after Saturday night’s performance, but there will be no concert this year. However, fans looking for some extra fun need look no further than the Seward County Community College Conestoga Innovation Center (CIC) – West Campus located just down the street from the rodeo arena.

Rodeo organizers have added a truck show to this year’s list of events, and the show will be at the CIC starting at 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14, and at 8 a.m. the following morning and run as late as 11:30 p.m. both nights.

Making the PRCA possible is a long list of sponsors, whom Haralson called fantastic.

“We have as many sponsors as we had last year,” she said. “The people around here are fantastic to help us out. We’re looking for vendors again even for the rodeo. If anybody out there’s wanting to, they can contact us through Facebook or our Web site.”

Sponsors for the 2026 rodeo include Abbott Construction, Action Realty, Adams Farms, American Ag, American Title, Bank of Beaver City, Bank of the Plains, Bar One Cattle/Delay, Big R, Billy’s, Black Hills Energy, Boot Hill, CallCory.com, Casey’s, Chrysler Corner, Circle D, Colvin Adult Learning Center, Community Bank, Conestoga Energy, Cozy Corner, Crazy House, Delay Cattle, Equity Bank, Equity Exchange, Faulkner Real Estate, French Construction, Golden Plains Credit Union, Groendyke Transport, Heritage Real Estate, IdeaTek, J & R Construction, Jones Monument, Keating Tractor and Equipment, Kenworth, KKBS, KSCB, Lewis Motor, Mead Lumber, MPG, National Beef, Professional Business Systems, Pizza Hut, Podunk Ranch, Red Barn, Sandcreek, Service Janitorial, Shelter Insurance, Southern Pioneer, Southwest Glass, Southwest Medical Center, State Farm – Aaron Knudsen, State Farm – Crystal Kinsinger, Southwest Kansas Board of Realtors, Tabor, Tatro Plumbing, TNT, United Rental, United Wireless, Winchell Bros., Winchester Enterprises, Coors/O’Neill and Budweiser.

Haralson said organizers want people to come out and have a good time, and with excitement already at a high level, just as they have done in the past, organizers are already planning for the 2027 PRCA Rodeo.

“We’re looking for what we can do for next year,” she said. “We get excited, and we’re pretty thrilled about this year too. We hope we have as good a crowd as we’ve had, and we appreciate all of our fans coming out. It’s a big deal. We don’t know contestants yet. We won’t know until about a week before, but we haven’t been short on contestants either. I thought we had a great year last year, and this year, we have a new stock contractor – Championship Pro Rodeo.”

With a new contractor, Haralson said she anticipates more contestants for this year too.

“He does a roughstock riding school,” she said. “He will pay their entry fee to come to our rodeo. We’re hoping that’ll get us even more roughstock riders.”

Saturday morning, Aug. 15, at 11 a.m., the PRCA parade will make its way down Kansas Avenue, and Wettstein said new flags will be displayed along the route and at the rodeo itself.

“Every other one’s going to be the American flag,” Haralson said. “Around the rock wall, we’re going to do the American flags around there.”

Parade participants can show up the morning of the parade, or they can visit www.liberalrodeo.com or the Seward County PRCA Rodeo Facebook page.

Sign-ups for mutton bustin will start at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, at Chrysler Corner for kids ages 8 and younger and weighing 60 pounds or less. The first 15 signed up will ride at 7 p.m. Friday night. Saturday, Aug. 15, at 1 p.m., contestants can again sign up for mutton bustin at Crazy House, and the first 15 will ride that night at 7 p.m.

Friday night is Crazy House Kids Night with children 12 and younger getting in free (two children per adult) with the purchase of an adult ticket. Gates open at 5:30 p.m.

Following mutton bustin at 7 p.m., a kids boot scramble will take place at 7:30 p.m. in four age groups – 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 and 10-11 – with sign-ups available at the west arena fence gate.

Performances start each night at 8 p.m., with auctions for 2026 Seward County PRCA Rodeo Belt Buckles made by Montana Silversmith and Gist Silversmith taking place each night. Saturday night’s buckle is a Man-Up buckle, and spectators are asked to wear their purple for Man-Up Night benefitting Liberal Area Rape Crisis/Domestic Violence Services.

Haralson said while rodeo organizers are excited, they hope fans are just as excited for this year’s PRCA.

“Now we’ve got to get everybody else excited,” she said.