Don King Days 2023 Held over Weekend

This past weekend marked the 35^th anniversary of Don King Days, which is always held on Sunday and Monday of the Labor Day Weekend. Don King Days features a variety of events, polo, cowboy polo, championship steer roping, kids dummy roping, and bronc riding.

On Monday, September 4, a heavy rainstorm moved down the mountain and onto the field, but it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the competitors or the spectators. One announcer noted that the cowboys and the spectators were not ‘fair weather cowboys.”

Don King Days stared in 1989 when a group of ranchers, ropers and friends of Don King organized the event and named it in honor the world-renowned saddle maker and King’s Saddlery founder who contributed so much to the western culture. Their intent was to celebrate the classic equestrian events unique to the Sheridan area — polo, steer roping and bronc riding. This event truly recaptures the spirit and traditions of the west, and the open-air, unconfined and unhurried atmosphere of rodeos past.

Spectators can get right close to the action, as there are no arena fences or barriers.

The largest polo tournament of the Big Horn Polo Club’s season is played over this weekend, culminating with the Don King Days Cup on Monday.

Cowboy polo has become a tradition at halftime of the Polo Games. Featuring teams from the local dude ranches, this is a wild and wooly event: Players ride stock saddles, have wide mallets, (some teams use brooms) and a basketball size ball instead of a small white sphere. There are no rules, except for chugging a can of beer at the start of play, making cowboy polo a crowd favorite.

Steerhead Ranch player Paul Scherf had this to say about the game and the paint horse he was riding in the games.

Another crowd favorite is the dummy roping for youngsters.

Vicki Kane, one of the Don King Days committee members talked about the event

She added about some of the kids going on to the championships.

One of the winners was Kutter Pond, 9-year-old son of Triston and Megan Holdeman.

Teal Vineyard was the winner of the girl’s division of the dummy roping competition.

Steer roping is a sport that developed out of necessity on the open range in the late 1800’s and continues to be a common method of doctoring cattle. The Wyoming Steer Ropers have selected Don King Days as the scene for their season finals.

The invitational matched bronc riding at Don King Days is truly unique. Most years, the bronc is saddled and blindfolded, then snubbed up to a pick-up man’s horse. The cowboy, riding double behind the other pick-up man, eases himself onto the waiting bronc. This year, as last year, due to time constrains and safety issues, the horses were let out of a bucking chute instead.

Merci Maestri, Sheridan Wyoming rodeo queen, carried the United States flag at the grand entry for the afternoon events.

Sunday and Monday evening, the spectators enjoy live music in the Big Horn Polo Club’s Club house.