The Origins of The Hondo Rodeo Fest

The Hondo Rodeo Fest is one of the most lucrative new professional rodeos. The limited athlete format means many of the best rodeo athletes in the world will compete against each other night after night, battling it out for their cut of The Hondo’s $1 million payout.

The Hondo was hosted for the first time in 2024 in Phoenix, Ariz. James Trawick and Blake Cody, the founders of The Hondo, had the idea to host the rodeo, and they were able to bring it to life after finally securing a venue for 2024. Trawick has a history in rodeo, and Cody in the music industry. Together, an event like The Hondo just made sense.

“Our backgrounds kind of converged in this idea of bringing rodeo and music together at the highest level, packaging it, and taking it on the road,” Trawick said. “We’ve had a lot of fun building so far, and we're excited about the future.”

One of the things that makes The Hondo unique is its extremely limited contestant format. There are no qualifiers for the rodeo; rather, the athletes are hand-selected by a committee led by McCoy Rodeo's Cord McCoy. The committee invites eight athletes in the timed events, saddle bronc riding and bareback riding, and 12 athletes in the bull riding.

“The idea there is that we take six bull riders from the PRCA six from the PBR,” Trawick said. “That creates a matchup where we actually get to see on level bull stock who’s the best. Some people think it’s harder to ride bulls in the PBR, and others have the opposite opinion. At The Hondo, you get to see that on full display.”

Cord McCoy and a Hondo Rodeo Fest fan. | Hondo Rodeo Fest

One of the big questions surrounding The Hondo for rodeo fans is how the athlete selection process works. It’s not based strictly on PRCA world standings, though that may impact the decision. Instead, the committee considers crowd appeal and how the athlete interacts with the rodeo fan base.

“One of the factors that comes into the conversation is regional impact,” Trawick said. “A certain barrel racer or team roper may have a stronger relationship with the fan base in Louisiana than they do in Phoenix and or Tampa, so that’s a factor.”

Several of the athletes for the upcoming Hondo Rodeo Fest in Phoenix, Ariz., on Nov. 13–15, have already been announced. The event will be headlined by rising stars like John Crimber and Kaiden Loud, as well as some rodeo veterans like Shane Hanchey and Junior Nogueira.

Since there is a smaller number of contestants, fans at The Hondo are able to follow a steady storyline throughout the weekend and get to know the athletes more than at most rodeos.

Due to the busy nature of summer rodeos, many top athletes compete during the slack, even at major rodeos. While this makes it possible for competitors to go to more rodeos, many rodeo fans never actually get to watch the top athletes compete at those rodeos.

This was an issue Trawick said The Hondo sought to correct.

“Part of the problem we're trying to solve is that we don't always present the best to the fan as professional rodeo,” Trawick said. “If you break down the stakes, the talent pool and the fact that it's the same all weekend long, it just changes the way that these people compete, and it pushes them to a new level.”

The Hondo Rodeo may be new to the rodeo world, but its unique format and sky-high payouts are making it one of the top destinations for rodeo athletes and fans alike.

Add us as a preferred source on Google