Pendleton Round-Up: Rodeo at the Edge of the Plateau

The Pendleton Round-Up was first held in September of nineteen ten, as a celebration for ranch families to gather after summer work was done. Local ranchers and businessmen organized the first event, billed as a frontier exhibition of bronc busting, horse racing, and cowboy spectacle. From the beginning, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation were not just guests but participants, bringing a tribal encampment of teepees that continues to this day.

The Round-Up grew into one of the largest and oldest rodeos in North America, drawing tens of thousands of visitors each September. It operates as a nonprofit, donating surplus funds to local causes. The Hall of Fame beside the arena documents over a century of riders, ropers, and the Native community that has been central to the event since its early years.