RodeoHouston to scale down events in 2021
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will skip its Open Show in 2021, instead focusing only on the Junior Show and other youth events. The Open Show focuses on adult exhibitors. The move to downsize is in direct response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“Our efforts will be focused on providing a safe experience for our Junior Show exhibitors in 2021, which aligns with our mission of promoting agriculture and supporting Texas youth,” said rodeo president and CEO Chris Boleman in a release. “Our Open Show exhibitors are an integral part of our show every year, and this decision was not made lightly but with the health and safety of all our exhibitors and guests at the forefront of our decision.”
Rodeo Houston is scheduled March 2-21, 2021. It is the largest livestock exhibition in the world, but next year, it will look different. Canceling the Open Show will allow for a smaller number of participants and for the remaining events to be held over a longer period of time, all in the interest of health and safety.
In March 2020, there was initial reluctance to shut down the rodeo as coronavirus cases crept up in the U.S. Several people who attended the barbecue cook-off contracted the virus, which public health officials suspect contributed to community spread.
Livestock entries for the 2021 Junior Show will be open Nov. 15 to Dec. 15, 2020; the competitions will include breeding beef heifers, breeding gilts, breeding sheep, dairy cattle, market barrows, market broilers, market goats, market lambs, market steers and market turkeys. Youth competitions will include youth meat pen rabbits, youth breeding rabbit and cavy, and llama and alpaca shows.
Ag Mechanics, Archery, Industrial Craft and Young Guns Shooting Sports contests will proceed. Ag Science Fair and Public Speaking contests will be held virtually.