The Campbell County Rockpile Museum is hosting the ProRodeo Hall of Fame Rodeo Takeover, a professional rodeo exhibit. It coincides with the 75th National High School Finals Rodeo. The exhibit’s home base is at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“We've got items from different members of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame who [were] also involved in high school rodeo,” said Justin Horn, museum assistant at the Rockpile Museum. “Some of the items include saddles, some boots, we've got Lane Frost’s [shirt] that's really cool on display. And some other items at the Hall of Fame [were] brought up [are] jackets from some of the Hall of Famers as well.”
The Rockpile Museum partnered with the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy for the exhibit, which features memorabilia from ProRodeo Hall of Famers that began their careers in the high school ranks, including Ty Murray, Lane Frost, Cody Ohl, and Mark Garrett.
Campbell County cowboys Bobby Harris, a 2022 Hall of Fame inductee, and Kenny Clabaugh, a 2023 Hall of Fame inductee, will speak and sign autographs on July 18, 19, and 20.
Activities for kids, including a mini rodeo event, are set for July 18 and 19. Memorabilia from previous NHSFR rodeos in Gillette, which first hosted the rodeo in 1993, is also part of the exhibit.
“We're calling it the Rockpile rodeo for kids,” he said. “They’ll learn how to rope. We've got some steer heads and we've actually got some pronghorn antelope archery targets that we're just going to stick out and let them rope should be a little bit, [to] make it a little bit more exciting.”
The kids rodeo event is free and will take place on museum grounds.
The NHSFR takes place July 16-22.