Don King Days 2024

The 36th-Annual Don King Days was held on Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 1st and 2nd at the Big Horn Equestrian Center in Big Horn.

Cecile Pattison, BHEC board Member, talked about how Don King Days began. She said her father-in-law, Dave Bliss, was one of the founders of the event. In 1988, Bliss and a bunch of ropers were coming home from a dusty, hot roping in Gillette. Thinking about the dusty arena, they began brainstorming on another place to hold the Wyoming Steer Roping finals.

Although the steeplechase has been discontinued, there is still polo, cowboy polo, the steer roping finals, and saddle bronc riding. There is no arena, and the crowd can sit along the grass to watch the event, and they sometimes can get very close to the action.

She added they do very little advertising, it is mostly word of mouth, and people love it. “It is an end of the summer picnic party get together and people look forward to it.”

WYO Rodeo Royalty were on hand at the day as well.

There are also several vendors who enjoy Don King Days, one vendor and photographer at the event was Michael Magill of Cheyenne. He had this to say about the day.

He said he has been doing photography professionally for about two years. He added he used to rodeo, but he stepped away from rodeo for several years.

Other vendors included several food trucks offering tacos, shaved ice, hamburgers and pizza. There were booths with western clothing, jewelry, and other western items. Space is limited and Big Horn Equestrian Center executive director Sheila Blackburn said there is a waiting list for the spaces.

There was also a donation jar to help ranchers that were affected by the recent fires.

There was polo, cowboy polo, which is played in western saddles with a basketball and brooms instead of a smaller ball and mallets, the Wyoming Steer Roping finals, in which over 40 ropers competed, and the ever-popular bronc riding.

The two-day event was named in honor of Don King, rope maker and saddle maker who founded King’s Saddlery in downtown Sheridan.

Don King Days is now a Labor Day tradition in Sheridan, drawing a large crowd of spectators from throughout the United States. Competitors in the events come from all over as well.