Oregon Experience: The Wild West Way

The Pendleton Round-Up will celebrate its centennial this Fall. Dedicated volunteers, tribal involvement and thrill-a-minute entertainment have made the Round-Up one of the oldest and most prestigious rodeos in the world. Oregon Experience looks back at the first hundred years of Round-Up! 

Share your stories of the Pendleton Round-Up.

Premieres September 09, 2010, 8:00 PM
on OPB TV

Watch Online &rarr

Buy the DVD from shop.opb.org →

About the Program

The Pendleton Round-Up is not the oldest rodeo in the country and not even close to the biggest.  But according to the cowboys who compete there, it's one of the best.  And besides, the Round-Up is far more than just a rodeo.

An extraordinary number of local volunteers run the whole operation, making a year-round commitment to this week-long event.  The Round-Up, in turn, has become inextricably intertwined with the Pendleton community and the Umatilla reservation.   And the active Native American presence has kept the Round-Up distinctive throughout  these many years.

This anniversary presents an excellent opportunity to explore the Round-Up's rich history, including:

World-champion cowboys and weekend wranglers; the Teepee Village; rodeo clowns and Indian princesses; enormous bucking bulls and brave bullfighters; and African-Americans, Native Americans and rodeo women - who defied the prejudices of the times to become crowd favorites.

This is the story of how, for the past 100 years, the people of small town Pendleton have combined history, tradition and thrill-a-minute modern entertainment to help their community thrive.