TL;DR The California High School Rodeo State Championships is the raddest event you have never heard of. Finals are what happens when ranch kids get competitive, fearless, and extremely caffeinated. It’s wild. It’s sweaty. And honestly, it’s inspiring.
Welcome to High School Rodeo Week in Bishop
From June 8–14, Bishop becomes the epicenter of high school rodeo chaos, bulls, boots, dust, and surprisingly polite teenagers in Wranglers. It’s the California High School Rodeo State Finals, which means a few hundred kids roll in hauling horses, hay, attitude, and just enough small-town chaos to make a city kid cry.
If you’ve never seen a 16-year-old casually climb on a pissed-off bull while chewing sunflower seeds and wearing a belt buckle the size of a dinner plate—congrats on your peaceful, boring life.
This Isn’t a Drill. It’s Rodeo Week.
Note: old but rad video 🤙🏼
Forget prom. Forget varsity sports. These kids are out here tying down goats, bending poles, and casually defying death before lunch. It’s dusty, it’s loud, and it smells like ambition, sunscreen, and livestock. Basically: heaven.
You’ve got events with names that sound made up unless you were raised right including Team Roping, Tie Down roping, Steer Wrestling, Breakaway Roping, Barrel Racing, Pole bending, Goat Tying, Saddle Bronc Riding, Bareback Riding, Bull riding, Cutting and the Queen Contest.
High School + Horsepower = Yeehaw University
What sets this apart from every other high school event is that rodeo kids are on another level. They’re up before sunrise, they can back up a trailer better than most adults, and they casually operate heavy machinery for fun. Their group chats probably include livestock weight logs.
And they’re not here to mess around. These teens are gunning for college rodeo scholarships, national rankings, and enough prize money to buy more saddle soap.
They are also, weirdly, the most polite group of teenagers you’ll ever meet—yes ma’ams, gate holding, and a lot of tip-of-the-hat energy. But don’t let that fool you. They will absolutely smoke you in a roping contest and still have time to clean stalls and flirt at the snack shack.
Americana Meets TikTok Ranchcore
The Tri-County Fairgrounds look like someone dropped a rodeo on the set of Yellowstone: Teen Edition. There are denim-clad families cooking tri-tip in the parking lot. Vendors selling churros, turquoise jewelry, and rhinestone-studded saddles. One girl is riding a horse while doing her math homework. It’s the Wild West with a wireless hotspot.
And yes, some of them are TikTok famous. Because even if you’re bronc busting at 8 a.m., there’s always time for a fit check and a boot scoot trend.
This Is What California Actually Looks Like
Not every Californian is sipping matcha on a Bird scooter. Some of them are 17, covered in arena dust, holding a rope in one hand and a Dr. Pepper in the other. And Bishop, for this one glorious week in June, is where they all meet to throw down.
So if you’re in town and wondering why there’s a 14-year-old reversing a dually like a pro while blasting Zach Bryan from a Bluetooth speaker—it’s Fishmas for cowboys. Only dustier. And way louder.
Get tickets and buttons at Bishop Chamber of Commerce – 690 N. Main Street – Or, day of rodeo at the fairgrounds arena ticket office.
