On a recent family holiday in Florida, one where didn’t do Disney – find out why here, we visited Suhl’s Rodeo in Kissimmee and it was such a surprisingly great evening I just have to share our Kissimmee Rodeo experience.
As we weren’t doing Disney or Universal I spent a lot of time researching things to do in Florida besides Disney I have put together a comprehensive list here. One of the things Mr Tammy was very keen to experience was a Rodeo. I came across two rodeo’s in the vicinity of where we were staying. Silver Spurs Rodeo and Suhl’s Rodeo. I will touch on Silver Spur rodeo a bit further on but it only runs twice a year. We therefore opted to to visit Suhl’s Rodeo.
Suhl’s Rodeo and our Kissimmee Rodeo Experience
Suhl’s Rodeo is held every Friday night at 8pm. I was ambivalent before attending the rodeo having always been a little uneasy at the prospect of bull riding and goading animals for sport. That said I knew how much Mr T wanted to try it and it would certainly be a new experience. Truth be told I didn’t know a great deal about rodeos and what to expect other than I expected it to be a tourist aimed slightly gimmicky show however I couldn’t have been more wrong.
It was a real rodeo with real competitors travelling across the states competing for money. It is taken very seriously by everyone involved in the event. In fact Rodeo’s are taken very seriously on a national level too with scholarships having been awarded in respect of bull riding.
Essentially visitors sit on tiered seating facing the arena where a serious of different events will take place. These will include bull riding, barrels racing, a half time calf scramble and in our case a trick rope display, although I do believe this is subject to change weekly.
Food is available at the rodeo and you can purchase this with your entrance ticket or separately if you’d prefer. We ate before arrival so we didn’t sample much of the food although our kids being kids did say they were hungry so we did get them some crisps and chips throughout the night. The food is essentially burgers and hot dogs but it does the job.
There is also a bar/saloon on site, which was so retro and so country and what you would expect from a rodeo. After the rodeo finishes live music is played in there, the cowboys and participants all come down for a drink and a chat and you can mingle and discuss all things rodeo with them. As we had our 3 and 4 year old with us at the time and the rodeo didn’t finish until after 10pm we didn’t frequent the bar. That said I can completely imagine you could have a real fun, eye opening night to the back drop of bull’s heads and country music.
The rodeo started off with barrel racing. This was an all female event and entrants rode a horse around three barrels in the fastest time possible. Should they knock over a barrel the would have a 5 second time penalty. This was a real event where participants have travelled to attend or were stopping buy to try and earn some money on their way across state. It was strangely captivating and all 4 of us really enjoyed cheering the riders on.
Next up was the bull riding.
This is where I have had my reservations in the past. I was uncomfortable at the thought of provoking animals for entertainment. That said I do believe the animals are really well taken care of. Whilst the cowboy compare did have his sponsors to plug when introducing the riders it never felt like too much of an advertisement. He was filling silences whilst riders and bull’s prepared. We watched all sorts of skill levels and ages take part in the bull riding. Some as young as 7. My children were particularly taken with the child entrees. I doubt I could do the viewing experience of bull riding justice, you have to see it and sit in that atmosphere to really understand why it was such a good experience. You become captivated in the scoring and intrigued to see if anyone can beat the top score or the longest rider. You find yourself eagerly anticipating the next rider.
There is a half time intermission but the entertainment does not stop here. We were treated to Trevor Dreher Trick Rope specialist. Before I attended the road I didn’t even know what a trick rope was. Apparently MR Dreher is one of the best in the business having even performed for the current president – make of that what you will. Essentially trick rope is clever tricks with ropes in a lassoo style. I have included a small snippet of his show in my vlog at the bottom of the page which I do believe will explain trick rope a little better than myself. I think this entertainment varies week in week out however.
There is also the dreaded audience participation during the intermission, which was surprisingly good. I doubt I would be saying that if I had been hauled up to the arena. The audience partipation included calf running for the children. Children from the audience had to run after a calf and get the rope from his tail. They all loved it, even my little four year.
For the adults they had to heard a bull into a fenced area. Several teams were selected often from different parts of the world so it really got the crowd cheering. It was a good way to pass the 15-20 minute break but rather them than me.
We pre-brought our tickets online although they can be brought at the door. We also arrived rather early ‘to get good seats’ although we didn’t need to. Perhaps 20 minutes before hand is enough. The rodeo runs March – October every Friday night at 8pm. It can be found at 1010 Suhls Ln, Kissimmee, FL 34741 just a 20 minute drive very simple drive from Kissimmee Old TownSilver Spurs Rodeo
There is another rodeo in the Kissimmee area which I will just touch on briefly. This is only held twice a year and is said to be the 5th largest rodeo in the States. It is also the official state rodeo of Florida. It wasn’t on during our stay however having exerpienced Sulh’s Rodeo were I to be in the county when Spurs Rodeo is on I would definetly want to attend, given its credentials.
Silver Spurs arena can be found at Osceola Heritage Park/Silver Spurs Arena
1875 Silver Spur Lane, Kissimmee, FL 34744.
All in all I couldn’t rate our Kissimmee Rodeo experience at Suhl’s Rodeo any higher. It was a real submersion into a very traditional and American culture that I had not experienced before. It didn’t feel put on for tourists, although they certainly are catered for. I consider us to have been very lucky to have had this experience and would recommend it to anyone.
You can watch a bit of our Kissimmee Rodeo experience here
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