Burke's Long History of Rodeo

While Burke is home to about 600 people, each year on the third weekend in July, the town swells to nearly 6,000, with people coming to watch, volunteer, and compete. The annual rodeo is such a staple that past residents plan yearly treks back home; others plan family reunions during this time, with all attending the rodeo as the centerpiece of their time together.

Rodeo in our area goes back much longer than the three decades the Stampede has been around. Scattered throughout Gregory County, there are a handful of rodeos with rich histories, and in Burke, the original rodeo grounds were just north of the sale barn. Locals recall Billie Sutton Sr. as the rodeo clown at these rodeos. Billie had a bit where he donned a big pair of Lee rider overalls outfitted with snaps so the outfit could break away. He would rope a wild horse with the rope tied to his overalls, and when the horse hit the end of the rope, the overalls would fly off and leave him in his long handles! Local ranchers brought stock for the cowboys to ride; it's always been a community effort to bring good rodeo to our area. 

Fast-forward 30-or-so years, and Jerry Hutchison (aka Hutch) is the person behind the modern-day Stampede. He wanted kids to have a place to play, ride horses, and practice their rodeo skills, and he knew just the location.

Just south of the golf course, a beautiful plot of land stood out. With its glorious sunsets, it was a bang-up place to have an arena. Hutch went to the city and asked if we could build an arena on this land. Work began in the late 1980s, with the first ranch rodeo held in 1989, coinciding with the South Dakota state centennial and a wagon train passing through Burke.

According to our articles of incorporation, we have a few local names you know well: Jerry Hutchison as president, Ed Marts as vice president, Bruce Heyden as secretary, Larry Roggow as treasurer, and Clark Horn as a member. As stated in Article III of this document, the purpose of this newly-formed group was to provide a facility for the public in which to train horses and enjoy the sport of riding, and to render civic services for the promotion of the welfare of the community and its citizens by means of active projects designed to improve the community, state, and nation. Dale Benson notarized this document on August 10, 1988.

While there was much to do, members recall the people who would show up and help, even if they weren't commonly considered "rodeo people." They just knew that help was needed, and we're blessed to live in a community of can-do people.

We didn't have bucking chutes and lacked resources to build our own, but word was that folks in the Mission area had some chutes that we could borrow. Off the men went, digging through the weeds to get the chutes ready for transport, and we were thankful to use them until we could have our own built. Countless people worked long hours to weld an all-steel arena that would stand the test of time, tend to the arena's dirt, and build bleachers to seat the spectators.

"We were out there until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning some nights and felt bad that our kids were so tired at the end of these long days. But now we see the same kids bringing their families out; it's a proud moment that reminds us that it was all worth it." -Sara Grim

To wax nostalgic a bit, Jeannie Odenbach designed a logo that we still use today, Bruce and Betsey Heyden led the sponsorships for countless years, Renee Sutton and Sara Grim organized people who knew rodeo, like Paul Gropper, President of the South Dakota Rodeo Association, to help start a rodeo in 1990, and in the vote for names, the Stampede won. Who can forget the cattle drive ending with an old-fashioned chuckwagon feed complete with cream can peach cobbler and the Stampede Idol contest, and of course, Renee's big yee-haw? We could go on for days about the names that have helped us get to where we are!

Now, what's a rodeo without some good food? Started by Julie Johnson and Linda Teitgen, the cook shack has been one to write home about. They originated the roast beef sandwich that is synonymous with the Stampede, after all! In those earlier years, we served food out of the back of a horse trailer until a concession stand could be built.

Our first stock contractor was Jeff Waln from Parmalee, the first announcer was Alec Whipple from Rosebud, and Beaver Scott from Parmalee had the honor of being the first bullfighter and funny man.

As we've grown, we do our best to help out other rodeos in the area. When we outgrew our concession stand, we offered the structure to the town of Interior. We had a crow's nest built with funds from Pearl Steffen, and when we built the new structure, the old went up the road to Dallas for their riding club. It's important to us to give back to the rodeo world, which has given us so much.

This brings us to our current era, and we couldn't have come as far as we have without mentioning Jackson Wenger, son of Gloria Stevicks-Connot. In memory of his mother, he designed and built a new crow's nest, fitted with VIP booths, right over the bucking chutes. Stampede goers can feel the rumble as they load the chutes with broncs and bulls, creating a whole new Stampede experience. We grew in scale, with the ideas of local dreamers coming to life all along the way. Our crew is pretty darn passionate about rodeo.

In 2020, the Stampede Committee took a big leap of faith as we looked to sanction our many-times-over SDRA rodeo of the year as a PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) rodeo. We were already hosting a professional rodeo, just not inviting the professional cowboys and cowgirls to compete. But, the world had other plans: A tornado in late 2019 and COVID-19 in 2020 postponed our hopes and dreams for a year. In 2021, the Stampede was sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA), with 317 contestants participating. It was everything we had ever hoped for and dreamed of, and the fans agreed.

As we look to the future, we are proud to be part of Burke, a community that we hold dear and that continues to step up every year to put on our rodeo. We are planning for the grounds to include additional facilities for the 4-H achievement days and ways to improve our rodeo experience. It will be a lot of work, but we never back off from a good challenge!

As Renee says, putting on a rodeo is a circle. Sponsors put up money. Volunteers work hard to provide the grounds, stock, and even the dirt, giving every contestant the best shot at a win. A great rodeo brings great fans, and the circle is complete. Every year, we use this mantra to make sure you experience rip-roarin' bronc-stompin’ Stampede rodeo at its best!

When it comes down to Friday evening at 6:00 or so, when it's down to the wire, we can't help but be a little nervous. Then, someone will let us know, "The cars are backed up to the highway!" and all is well — and we're ready to rodeo!