Businesses are reopening just in time for one of Yavapai County’s biggest and most economically prosperous events – the World’s Oldest Rodeo in Prescott.
The rodeo, which started in 1888, is slated to take place as part of Prescott Frontier Days. It is scheduled for June 29 through July 5. Whether the rodeo takes place or not depends on the number of new COVID-19 cases in the coming weeks.
Prescott Frontier Days General Manager JC Trujillo says he wants to dispel any speculation that the event could be postponed. “I’m running this rodeo and right now, we are having a rodeo.”
Trujillo, 72, a Prescott native, has a long history with the legendary event. His father, Albert, participated in Frontier Days in the 1930s and Trujillo first started his involvement with the bareback rider event as a 16-year-old boy. In 1981, he became world champion. He has broken ribs, dislocated a knee and suffered a punctured lung participating in the sport he loves.
“It means a lot to my family,” Trujillo said. “We have deep roots in Prescott and deep roots in Frontier Days.”
The term “rodeo” comes from the Spanish word, rodear, which means to surround or go around. It was first used in American English around 1834 to refer to a cattle round-up. A rodeo stems from the Spanish traditions of the vaquero, a cowboy, whose knowledge, spirit and athletic ability are judged in the competitive arena.
The Prescott Frontier Days website says the world’s first rodeo started with a group of local merchants who offered up cash prizes at the “cowboy tournament” in 1888. The rodeo has not missed a year since, according to Trujillo.
Activities planned will feature group and individual competitions, from team roping to bull riding, during the seven-day event.
It is estimated Prescott Frontier Days attracts nearly 30,000 people and injects millions of dollars in revenue into the local economy with visitors booking hotels and eating at local restaurants. Trujillo says local support has a lot to do with why the rodeo has galloped along all these years. “We’ve got some long, long-time sponsors – the blood that runs through the veins of Prescott Frontier Days.”
Palace Restaurant and Saloon Owner Scott Stanford says he hopes patrons will come in for some cowboy cuisine when the rodeo comes to town. The Palace opened in 1887 and its employees famously waited on the likes of gunslinger Doc Holliday and Wyatt and Vigil Earp.
The historic establishment re-opened May 11, after Arizona Governor Doug Ducey allowed eateries to restart dine-in services. The business has had to reduce the number of tables by half – from 92 to 46 – to help promote social distancing.
Stanford says he laid off his entire staff of 45 employees before recently rehiring 38 people. “It cost us a lot of money in sales.”
Keeping Businesses in Business
The Palace did receive loans to help keep his restaurant afloat. Two primary U.S. Small Business Administration loan programs for relief because of COVID-19 are the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan. As of May 20, there were 4,625 EIDL loans and 51,317 Paycheck Protection approved loans in Arizona, according to the most recent report by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Since March, the Small Business Development Center at Yavapai College worked with 175 Yavapai County businesses to help with loans related to losses from the pandemic. The center has worked with 320 total for 2020.
Jeri Denniston, director of the center, said local businesses in need of financial assistance can still apply for Paycheck Protection loans meant to help rehire or retain employees of active businesses in the state. Companies do not have to pay back funds as long as they meet specific guidelines such as keeping all employees on the payroll for eight consecutive weeks and using the money for payroll, rent, mortgage interest or utilities.
The director said her staff is in the process of surveying Yavapai County businesses to see who is still in need of financial help.
Double H Leatherworks owner Steve Long was not one of the lucky businesses that received any government loans. His business was deemed essential because it provides medical lifts for shoes. Still, the retail side took a significant hit. Long, who has operated the business since 2010, was denied loans at two financial institutions.
“I was told by two different banks I was too small,” he said. “They wouldn’t even take my application. It’s frustrating.”
Still, local businesses are encouraged as the state opens in phases. Many are hoping the World’s Oldest Rodeo will ride on in the new normal.
Prescott Mayor Greg Mengarelli calls the event an important “symbol of freedom” for the community. But he said public officials must consider economic factors as well as how to keep residents safe. “We have to balance all these decisions,” Mengarelli said.
Trujillo hopes local residents can enjoy the sport he has known since 1954, where spectators can find “great western hospitality and great western competition.” QCBN
By Brent Ruffner, QCBN
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