Summer Stampede Series at Latigo Farms is Fun for the Whole Family

If you’ve never seen a cowboy ride a bull or a cowgirl race her house at full speed around barrels, then you’ve never been to a rodeo! Latigo Farm in Landrum, SC, minutes outside of Greenville, SC, hosts a big rodeo all summer and through the fall and we’ve got all the details on how to take your family. 

Thank you to Latigo Farm for hosting us so we could provide this review.

I’ve been to many rodeos and am always amazed at the sheer courage of the cowboys and cowgirls as they ride bulls and steers, rope calves, and race their horses around barrels and through poles. Latigo Farm in Landrum, SC is hosting the Summer Stampede Series through October every other Saturday night and boy, is it fun to watch! 

About Latigo Farm and Rodeos

Latigo Farm has been in Landrum for decades and the rodeo is held under their enormous covered arena. They are situated on a beautiful piece of land in the foothills and the drive up from Greenville is just gorgeous. When not hosting rodeos, the farm does riding lessons, 4-H clubs, and horse boarding. 

Rodeos originated in the 1800s with the Spanish settlements in California and Mexican rancheros. These rancheros liked to compete to see who was the best at riding horses and bulls and using a lasso. Thus was born the rodeo and the cowboy lifestyle of rodeos continues to grow in the United States as cowboys and cowgirls compete to win money at these events. 

The Summer Stampede Series Rodeo 

I’m from New Jersey but I’ve got plenty of Southern in me and was kicking myself for not wearing my cowboys boots and cowboy hat to this rodeo when we showed up. I would have fit in just fine! Walking in felt like entering the song, Down on the Farm by Tim McGraw. Look it up. 

The arena is huge and the lineup features a lot of different events from bull riding to sheep riding for kids, barrel racing, breakaway roping, and bulldogging (where the cowboy wrestles a steer). Animals are not harmed at these events. It’s usually humans who are harmed if anyone is hurt during rodeos. 

The rodeo at Latigo Farm is presented by EA Livestock Company and Live Action Rodeo Company. They provide the livestock and do all the emceeing and music.

Speaking of music, oh my gosh, it was fun! They had the best music playing that pumped up the crowd and competitors, everything from country music hits to Guns N Roses. It was all family-friendly and appropriate and just really a lot of fun. 

The night starts at 7:30 pm and the future cowboys and cowgirls (aka pee wees) kick it off with sheep riding. It was really cute. The kids tried to ride fluffy sheep like grown-up cowboys ride bulls. Then they do events with goats, one of which the kids had to run and grab a flag that was on the goat and then run back to the start line. Some kids were really good at this and others looked totally confused but made up for it in their adorable cowboy apparel. 

The kid portion goes for a while, till around 8:30 pm or so, then the cowgirls get their chance for breakaway roping. This is when they try to rope a calf. They only get one shot and it looks really hard! Kids come back for some junior steer riding and then the cowboys try their hand at bulldogging, which is wrestling a steer to the ground. Only a couple of cowboys managed to conquer the steer when we were there.

The announcer was great because he explained what all the events were and the rules the competitors had to follow. While I’ve been to many rodeos, I couldn’t tell you the first thing about rules so I was grateful for the announcer. 

In between all the events, there is music and a clown that tells jokes. There’s also a cowboy on a horse in the arena most of the time that has to trot around and round up the sheep and calves into pens so there’s usually something always happening inside the arena. It’s really nonstop fun. 

Bull Riding at Latigo Farm

Bull Riding finally kicked off about 9:30 pm and we were pretty excited to see the “most dangerous sport in the world”, according to the announcer. The courage these guys have is unreal. It takes several minutes to get set up inside the pen and there are at least seven guys helping the cowboy to get on the bull and secured with the rope. The rope is wrapped around the rider’s hand and he can only hold on with that one hand. 

As soon as that gate opened, all heck breaks loose and wow, those bulls were crazy. The riders needed to last on the bull eight seconds, which probably feels like an eternity when you’re riding a 1,500 pound bull that’s trying to buck you off. Most of the cowboys lasted only a couple seconds before being tossed off. 

The other cowboys and clowns help to get the bucking bull back into its pen and then set up for another cowboy to try his luck. 

Barrel Racing and Pole Bending at Latigo Farm

Barrel racing and pole bending with the cowgirls was after the bull riding and wow, these were just as fun to watch as the bull riders were. 

Both of these events are for the women competitors and they fly on their horses! Pole bending is where a set of six poles are set up in the arena in a straight line 21-feet apart. The girls need to weave their horses at top speed through the poles and then sprint back to the starting line. These girls were totally fearless and I was in awe of their skill. 

Barrel racing is similar but with three barrels spread out in a triangle in the arena. The women need to circle the two side barrels, then the furthest, and race back to the starting line. They were so cool to watch and the horses were gorgeous. Actually, all the livestock looked really well taken care of. 

There was a dog in the arena during pole bending who the audience loved because his only job was to go retrieve the cowboy hats after they flew off the heads of the competitors during the event. He was adorable and pretty good at his job!

Every other Sunday, the farm hosts barrel racing for free at 3 pm so if you want to see what part of a rodeo is like, that would be a great option to check out. 

Concessions at the Rodeo 

There are all kinds of vendors at the Summer Stampede Series from jewelry to bags to food and drink. 

We got some nachos ($3) and a lemonade slushie ($3). The prices are pretty affordable, which is appreciated! 

Tips on going to the rodeo

Here are a few tips on visiting the rodeo at Latigo Farm:

• The rodeo starts at 7:30 pm but you can get there later if you want. The kid events are a little more slow going than the youth and adult events.
• Admission is cash only.
• The arena is covered and most of the seats are bleachers and under the arena but there are some that aren’t (if it rains, bring a towel because those seats will be wet).
• You are welcome to bring your own chairs. 
• Pets on leash are allowed.  
• The rodeo happens rain or shine. A big storm would force the event to be on hold. 
• No outside food, coolers, or alcohol allowed. 
• If you want a good view for the majority of the rodeo, sit on either side of the area closest to the announcer and gates. You can see the arena for any seat but most of the action happens closest to the gates at the far end of the arena. 
• There are indoor bathrooms.

Admission & Dates 

Admission is $10 cash for ages 5+. They don’t do any presale tickets. 

If you or your kids want to compete, you can do that. These are the prices and info on how to sign up.

The rodeo kicks off at 7:30 pm and goes to around 11 pm on average. We stayed till about 10:45 pm and my daughters didn’t even want to leave then!

The rest of the 2024 Summer Stampede dates are: 

• August 3
• August 17
• August 31
• September 14
• October 12
• October 19
• October 26

Latigo Farm
3472 Highway 414, Landrum, SC
Latigo Farms Facebook page