Stock Show and Rodeo sees increased turnout, success for vendors, livestock sales

RAPID CITY, S.D. — The Black Hills Stock Show and Rapid City Rodeo wrapped up this weekend.

Turnout for the events outdid previous years, as they were some of the only shows anywhere in the country still scheduled during the pandemic — giving organizers an opportunity to show off the best of Rapid City.

“The one thing we noticed about this years Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo, was there was an electric vibe in the air, throughout all the attendees,” said Ron Jeffries, general manager of the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo. “You could really tell that people were happy to be out and have a place to go. A lot of people traveled from out of state to be here because we’re open and available for events, and you could see that throughout the week.”

There were a record number of participants and spectators in all events — increasing sales for vendors in the process.

“Our first weekend of traffic was fantastic. Many of our vendors did as much business the first three days as they did in any other given year, so that was very cool. And of course we had a couple of soft days in the middle, but we finished off with some really strong days, the last Thursday, Friday, Saturday,” Jeffries said.

As one of the only stock shows still scheduled, it also drove up sales for livestock.

“As far as the horse sale, the horse sale was a super cool event this year. We set a record. Our previous record in sales was 1.2 million dollars, this year we were just under 1.9 million dollars in horse sales. And that horse flesh went all across the U.S. Of the top 12 selling gelding horses, only one stayed in South Dakota,” Jeffries added.

Jeffries says in the coming weeks, he and his team will evaluate this years Stock Show to improve and grow the event.