Blast From The Past: These Old Photos of the Tri-State Rodeo are Gems!

It's finally here! The most anticipated event of the Tri-State Fair...the rodeo.

As with any good rodeo, there is a rich history attached to it, and the Tri-State Rodeo is no different. Let's take a look at it.

The fairs in the Amarillo area date all the way back to 1899. This is when the first inception of the concept of the Tri-State Fair was born. Things got real in 1923 when the event became chartered and had people on a board organizing the event.

The property the fair is held on was purchased in 1924, and the fair itself was closed from 1941-1946 due to World War II. It re-opened in 1947 to record crowds. The event was closed last year as well due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and I can tell you from my experience out there this year the crowd is large.

The fair has continuously evolved into a bigger event, and even with all the additions, the most popular events lie within the rodeo.

As we head into rodeo weekend to close out the fair, we take a look back at the history of the Tri-State Rodeo

Here's a photo of a champion steer. I'm not 100% sure of the date, but based on the fashion and black & white nature of the photo, I'd place this somewhere in the early 50's. I could be entirely wrong though. For as long as we can remember, there have been steer and cattle events where many different awards were given out. That continues today.

Here's one with an owner and his newly crowned champion bull. This particular bull won the highest honor as Grand Champion. You'll find events heavy with bulls at the rodeo.

That's just a taste of Amarillo's rich history. Check these out...