Steamboat Springs puts the “Giddy-up” into the Fourth of July  
Cowboys’ Roundup Days offers a distinctive Western experience in a town 

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(STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO.) Old Glory wears a cowboy hat during Steamboat Springs’ Cowboys’ Roundup Days. The celebration of Western heritage and traditions can be seen in such spectacles as the high-energy Fourth of July parade and the genuinely Western Saddleback Ranch Cattle Drive over the Fourth of July weekend.

The Fourth of July Parade, one of the staples of the weekend, brings colorful excitement to Lincoln Avenue starting at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 4th. The parade features more than 60 floats with entries from local groups and organizations making for a very vivacious and interactive parade. This year’s theme relates to a subject that many Steamboat residents can identify with – the Olympics. The parade theme is “Steamboat Springs: Alive with the Olympic Spirit,” in honor of the Olympic Games this summer. Steamboat Springs is no stranger to the Olympics having produced more winter Olympians than any other town in North America, (a record 69 and counting.) The parades Grand Marshall will be Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club Director Rick DeVos. Rick and his talented team at the Winter Sports Club continue to invest their time and energy to inspire Olympic dreams.

One of the most popular events of Cowboys’ Roundup Days, the Saddleback Ranch Cattle Drive features almost 200 head of longhorn cattle stampeding down the historic main street in Steamboat Springs. This tradition takes us back to the good ole days reliving the reason Lincoln Avenue was built so wide. The original purpose of main thoroughfare was to create a passageway to herd cattle from ranches in the south valley to the train depot at the other end of town where they would be transported to market. The Cattle Drive begins at 10 a.m. Sunday, July 6th as the cattle are herded down Lincoln Avenue from the corner of 13th street onto 5th street and into the corrals at Romick Arena for the evening rodeo.

The cattle drive has a special added attraction this year. In addition to the Iacovetto family (owners of Saddleback Ranch) and ranch hands, a special invitation is being extended to eight selected guest wranglers from the public to assist with the cattle drive. The guest wranglers will pay a fee of $250 and all the proceeds will be donated to the local Western Heritage Fund.

Returning to Western roots, ranch teams compete in the Ranch Rodeo. The free event features approximately 20 four-person teams all competing on horseback against the clock with four ranch/cattle handling tasks underway at the same time. Each team is required to rope and brand a calf, rope and tie a steer, pen a steer and rope and milk a cow. The rodeo features teams from Steamboat, Hayden, Yampa, Oak Creek, Walden, Meeker, Colorado Springs, Kremmling and communities in Utah and Wyoming.

Recognizing and celebrating the ranching and agriculture tradition in the Yampa Valley is part of Cowboys’ Roundup Days and this year’s events mark the 105th consecutive year it has been honored over the Fourth of July weekend in Steamboat.  Three life-time Routt County ranching families will be honored prior to the Ranch Rodeo including the Long Family from South Routt; the Monger Family from Central Routt and Jerry and Judy Green from West Routt.

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Celebrating over 100 years of service in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association works to promote summertime activities and programs. To learn more about chamber events and activities please check out www.steamboatsummer.com or call the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association at (970) 879-0880.

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