Pendleton Round-Up & Happy Canyon

The first Pendleton Round-Up was held on September 29, 1910, as “a frontier exhibition of picturesque pastimes, Indian and military spectacle, cowboy racing, and bronco busting for the championship of the Northwest” and throughout its 100-year history, it has held up this vision.

The Pendleton Round-Up also has a strong Native American presence dating back to 1910 and continues to promote their culture.  One of the most notable and recognizable aspects of the rodeo is the tipi village.  The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indians and another member of Northwest tribes set up a tipi village on the rodeo’s grounds and as of today, the village is composed of over 300 tipis and is the largest annual Indian encampment in North America.

The celebration kicks off with the Dress Up Parade, held on the Saturday before the Round-Up week, where anyone can enter and dress up to go through downtown Pendleton at 10 am. The evening after this parade there is a kick-off concert held in the Happy Canyon Arena. Rodeo week itself begins with events such as bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, steer roping, steer wrestling, team roping, tie-down roping, women’s breakaway roping, Indian relay racing, wild cow milking, and Indian dancing. Then on Friday morning at 10 am the Westward Ho! parade concludes the week’s events with a non-motorized parade featuring covered wagons, Native Americans in full regalia, and marching bands.