Of all the things traditionally associated with Vermont, rodeo is not one of them. But for 46 summers, spectators and competitors have been flocking to Castleton on Saturday nights to watch calf roping, bucking horse riding, barrel racing and bull riding.
The O’Rourke family started the rodeo at Lake Bomeseen in the mid ‘60s and eventually moved it to their Pond Hill Ranch site. This is where up to 2,000 rodeo fans congregate on Saturday evenings to cheer on cowboys and cowgirls. Most of the competitors come from within a 100-mile radius of Castleton, but others venture from across the country to take part.
We stopped in to the Pond Hill Ranch on a drizzly Saturday evening to talk to the organizers, competitors and fans of the rodeo.
