Monthly Archives: July 2026

Daniella Petrucci competes at a Women’s Ranch Bronc Riding Championships event. Many of the top ladies in the association are expected to be in Gunnison, Colorado, next week for the inaugural event in conjunction with Cattlemen’s Days. (PHOTO BY MIKE McGILL COURTESY OF WOMEN’S RANCH BRONC RIDING CHAMPIONSHIPS)   GUNNISON, Colo. – When Kevin Coblentz and Karla Rundell had one of their visits about their community, they realized a need in the Gunnison Valley. “Kaitlynn Hayes and I had been talking about bringing women’s bronc riding to Cattlemen’s Days, so Kevin and I talked about it,” said Rundell, the first vice president of the Cattlemen’s Days committee. Hayes is a Colorado-based stock contractor who will provide bucking horses for the Women’s Ranch Bronc Riding Championships event, which takes place alongside the Mini Broncs. The evening begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 7, at the Fred Field Western Center in Gunnison. The admission is $15 for adults, and anyone 16 and under are free. “From the very beginning, we wanted this to be women supporting women,” Rundell said. Women-led businesses are helping support the event, and now organizers are hoping thousands of others will follow suit regarding the event unique to Cattlemen’s Days. “I’d really like to see 3,000 women fill those stands to see the bronc riding that night,” said Coblentz, the event’s general manager. “That’s the best way to have women supporting women.” It is certainly a Western event. The bucking horses are real, and so are the cowgirls. Women riding broncs is nothing new to rodeo, but it’s gained a resurgence through the Women’s Ranch Bronc Riding Championships association. In fact, the Gunnison event will be the first of the organization’s 2027 international tour. Association executives are expecting a heavy dose of Americans in the mix, but there will be some ladies from other countries eager to share their talents before a big crowd. That’s part of the draw, but so is the $15 admission. “You can’t even go out to eat for that,” Coblentz said. “We’ve got it priced to where everyone in town to enjoy a Tuesday night at Cattlemen’s Days.” It is a celebration about the community’s Western heritage, and Tuesday is a chance to see old-school bronc busting with an estrogen touch. It will be a throwback to the Old West, when ranch hands would tame wild horses by riding the buck out of them. As horse training has evolved over time, different techniques are used. Still, because of what ranch cowboys were doing more than a century ago, a sport was born. Saddle bronc riding and steer roping were the original events, and bronc riding is recognized as the “Classic Event in Rodeo.” As the sport has grown, adjustments have been made to the betterment of competition. Cowboys ride in a specialized bronc saddle, in which the stirrups are free-swinging. That’s different than a traditional Western saddle, which is what’s used by virtually every outfit in the Gunnison Valley. It’s also the type of saddle the women will use when they compete at the fairgrounds. “The history of Cattlemen’s Days is about celebrating all those ranching families through the generations, so I think a lot of us can identify with the women who ride broncs,” Rundell said. “I’m really looking forward to bringing these ladies to town.”