Barrel racer Sarah Roberts treks from Texas to Idaho for the Caldwell Night Rodeo, chasing her adrenaline-fueled passion and competing for a share of the purse
CALDWELL, Idaho — For professional barrel racer Sarah Roberts, getting to the Caldwell Night Rodeo is a two-day trip from Texas.
But after the long haul, there is little time to rest.
Roberts has been practicing since 5 a.m., making run after run as she prepares to compete in Caldwell.
“I’ve always been kind of an adrenaline junkie,” Roberts said. I was like, ‘dang, I’ve got to try that.’ And then I did try it, and it was like game over. I was hooked.”
Roberts is one of several competitors traveling to Idaho from Texas for this year’s rodeo. She said the Caldwell Night Rodeo is part of the Wilderness Circuit, giving competitors another opportunity to earn points and compete against some of the best in professional rodeo.
For many Texas competitors, the trip is a group effort.
“It’s like everybody that you rodeo with and hang out with in Texas, they all leave at the same time and you just all travel in a group together,” Roberts said.
Her horse, Guinness, also made the two-day journey. Roberts said he was ready to get out of the trailer and compete and was not thrilled when she spent time riding another horse.
“He was missing his girlfriend over here,” Roberts said. “He’s thrown a little fit because I was riding her in the arena.”
While competitors focus on winning, hundreds of volunteers work behind the scenes to prepare the Caldwell Night Rodeo grounds.
Tom Doan, a Caldwell native, has spent more than a decade helping lead those efforts. He started as an associate director, essentially a volunteer position, learning what it takes to put on the rodeo.
He eventually became director and now helps more than 400 volunteers prepare the grounds for competitors and fans.
The work includes adapting the arena for new chutes, making sure the horses have a comfortable place to compete and helping complete improvements for spectators.
This year, organizers also completed improvements for spectators, including permanent skyboxes that replace the temporary structures used in previous years.
“We always had temporary skyboxes there before, but to be able to complete this project was amazing,” Doan said.
For Doan, the rodeo is about more than competition. It is also where he met his wife in 1989.
Doan said the event gives fans a chance to experience Western culture, even if they only spend a couple of hours at the rodeo. “For the fans and the spectators, they’re just getting a little taste of that Western lifestyle,” he said.
The Caldwell Night Rodeo continues through Saturday, with performances each night and the championship round Saturday.
The rodeo is estimated to have a $12 million to $14 million economic impact on the local economy.
And organizers say the purse has increased again this year, with $42,000 up for grabs in each event.
They say the larger purse is one way they’re working to keep attracting top professional rodeo competitors to Canyon County.
