Carbondale Wild West Rodeo thrives on community.
For 12 continuous weeks every summer, the Gus Darien Arena—about a mile east of Carbondale along County Road 100—buzzes with life as families, friends and strangers gather on the dusty bleachers to celebrate Western heritage. The venue itself is named after a hard-working rancher born in the Roaring Fork Valley in 1911.
The Carbondale Wild West Rodeo (CWWR) is only made possible thanks to countless volunteer hours. As a nonprofit, its aim is not to make money but to create community. Each year, proceeds are dedicated toward academic scholarships for contestants or volunteers actively enrolled in
college or a trade school.
CWWR began in 2005, when Mike Kennedy and David Weimer took the rodeo reins from a profit-driven promoter who was quickly burning bridges with the town and sponsors. Together, with help, they built the event up to what it is today: a summertime staple attracting weekly crowds beneath the stadium lights.
“We thought it was a good thing for the town,” Kennedy says. “The first couple of years were pretty tough. Every week we were hoping we’d make enough money at the gate to pay everybody at the end of the night that had to be paid.” Some 20 years later, the CWWR has become almost too popular for its own good, creating new challenges for Kennedy, who remains a dedicated volunteer and now serves as the board chairman.
Kennedy wasn’t raised riding horses, but he made friends in the ranching community after moving west and soon began helping with cattle drives. As a real estate agent, he facilitated an agreement by which the town of Carbondale acquired the riding arena from a local roping club back in 1981.
Announcer Branden Edwards notes that after a year-long Covid hiatus, excitement for CWWR returning in 2021 was palpable. “If there was ever a time we took it for granted, I think that time has passed,” he says. Unlike Kennedy, Edwards grew up in the tradition. Following in his father’s boots’ steps, Edwards competed professionally as a roper and now coaches rodeo at Colorado Mesa University.
“The Carbondale team does an amazing job putting on a rodeo that feels like home to contestants, and invites both sides to come in,” Edwards says. By “both sides,” he refers to people integrated in the Western lifestyle, perhaps with generational ties to agriculture, and others who may only attend one or two rodeos in their lifetime. “We, as people involved, are elated to have more people to share this with.”
In 2023, organizers made adjustments to keep pace with the rodeo’s popularity: limiting on-site parking, providing a free shuttle, hiking prices for tickets for the first time in 11 years. A sheriff’s order prohibited parking along County Road 100 and the BYOB tradition was brought to a halt.
Kennedy hopes people understand that abiding by these rules will help keep the rodeo riding smoothly. “We became a victim of our own success,” he admits. “When Dave and I started this thing, we never envisioned that,” hence their slogan: “small town rodeo, big time fun.”
“As long as there’s a leadership group thatwants to keep it going, everything can be figuredout,” he reckons.
Sisters Jashine Wise and Janelle Forbes are rising to that very occasion. As members of Carbondale’s historic Gianinetti family, ranching runs in their veins. Melanie Cardiff, their mother, is a former rodeo queen and raised them riding horses. Wise now serves on the CWWR board, coordinating volunteers—including her own kids. Forbes, meanwhile, manages the rodeo’s digital presence, adapting to the times while keeping with the spirit.
“The way it used to be can’t sustain with crowds,” Wise says. “Most of our crowd is local, which I think is pretty awesome, that it lures you back, week after week. But every rodeo there are newcomers, where it’s their first rodeo, and I think it’s so cool to be able to have somebody out there that’s never seen a rodeo, really getting immersed in it.”
Depending on the week, audiences are treated to barrel racing, bull riding, bronc riding, ribbon roping, steer riding, team roping, breakaway roping, cowhide racing and the ever-popular mutton bustin’ (watching children ride sheep). Each season also features special performances like trick riding.
“Watching the animal and the human work together and being able to see that in real time is a pretty incredible thing,” Wise says. “The stock thatis out there, they are bred for that. They live for it.When you see the bucking broncos and the bulls,they love to work.”
With so much effort behind each rodeo, what keeps this team going is a feeling Wise described as community. “I think it is such an important piece of our heritage here, and it’s a piece you don’t get to see every day. So to be able to share that with others is really valuable. And I think that’s really why people come here, it’s that feeling you get from being part of this community.”
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THE DETAILS
• Every Thursday, June 6 to Aug. 22
•Gates open, 5 p.m. Slack, 5:45 p.m.
•Grand Entry, 7:30 p.m.
•Individual ticket, $15
•Children 11 and under are free
•Limited parking, $10
•Free shuttles from The Orchard (110 Snowmass Dr., Carbondale)
•Save money by getting discounted tickets at the Roaring Fork Valley Co-op.
Gus Darien Riding Arena, County Road 100,carbondalerodeo.com
