october 18, 2025
The Boys Ranch Rodeo is Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch tradition that dates back to 1945! Since then, we have continued to welcome thousands of guests each year for rodeo weekend, from both the Texas Panhandle and many other states.
As our signature event, the Boys Ranch Rodeo allows our children – ages 5 to 18 – to participate in an exciting and thrilling adventure! Each year, Boys Ranch boys and girls will compete in more than a dozen rodeo events or participate in other ways as Boys Ranch puts its best foot forward to our community.
Stick Horse Racing
Similar to barrel racing, contestants on stick horses must make a cloverleaf pattern around barrels. Each child is under age 5 and receives a buckle.
Mutton Busting
In mutton busting, children wearing protective body protectors and helmets cling to woolly ewes that are released from a chute into the arena. Judges give the riders scores based on how long they stay on top of the sheep and how well they ride.
Junior Roping
In this event, riders on horseback follow a dummy steer, then rope the horns. They are timed, and the rider who successfully ropes both horns the fastest is the winner.
Junior and Senior Calf Riding
These are two more judged roughstock events. Children wearing body protectors and helmets hold onto a rope around the midsection of calves with one hand as they attempt to remain aboard the calf for eight seconds. The riders are scored for time and technique. The animal is judged for style and difficulty. The scores are added for the total rider score.
Chute Dogging
This timed event is limited to seniors and is a variation on steer wrestling seen in professional rodeos. Contestants on foot take hold of a steer by the horns inside a chute. When the chute gate is opened, the contestants must cross a line 10 feet away from the chute before pulling the steer to the ground using leverage and strength. Fastest time wins.
Steer Riding
This roughstock event is for older children and uses larger animals. It is scored like the other roughstock events.
Goat Tying
This timed event is limited to seniors. Riders ride quickly to a goat at the far end of the arena, then dismount from their horses, often at a run, before tying the goat’s legs.
Senior Roping
Senior riders follow a live steer into the arena and ropes both horns without breaking the barrier before the steer does. The clock is stopped when the riders stop their horses and the motion of the steer. The fastest time wins.
Junior and Senior Pole Bending
Riders on horseback run to the end of a line of six poles, then weave in and out of the line twice before running back to the entry gate. This is a timed event, and riders receive time penalties of 5 seconds for each pole knocked over during the ride.
Bronc Riding
This scored event is limited to cowboys ages 16 and above. Riders may choose “bareback” or “saddle bronc” style as they attempt to remain aboard bucking horses for 8 seconds. The event is scored like the other roughstock events, both for the quality of the bucking horse and the riding technique.
Junior and Senior Barrel Racing
In this timed event, riders on horseback complete a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels. They receive time penalties of 5 seconds for each barrel they knock over. The fastest time wins.