Idaho’s Oldest Rodeo – Border Days

Idaho’s oldest rodeo isn’t in Boise.  It’s not even in Idaho’s first capitol, Lewiston.  It’s in the little town of Grangeville that is on the border of the largest contiguous wilderness area in the United States.  Border Days has been action packed since 1912 in Grangeville.  This annual 3-day event is every 4th of July Independence Day holiday.  Every year this little town of 3100 people swells with former residents and tourists for the festivities.  Each day there’s a parade and mini-carnival.

There are also street sports including foot races and the famous egg toss competition.  An egg toss is a huge event that people come from vast distances to compete in.  Locals practice all year round to perfect different ways of throwing an egg back and forth without breaking it.  Teams of two people start close together and with simple tosses.  When you drop or otherwise break your egg, you get eliminated.  An MC directs the competition and makes the toss gradually more difficult until there is only one team left.  Here is a 360-degree video of last years’ egg toss.

Locals also look forward to the fireworks display put on by the fire department on the night of the 4th.  The rodeo keeps the crowds and cowboys and cowgirls busy in the evenings.  There are even events for the kids like the chicken race.  All the kids in the crowd get invited into the arena to catch a chicken and win a prize.  I don’t envy the chickens when that crazy mob starts chasing them.  It’s fun to watch though.  The kids can also take part in the “stick horse race”.

I enjoy watching the bull riding and bronc riding.

I saw this cowboy watching the early part of the rodeo and I thought that he looked like a genuine cowboy.

It turns out I was right because when the bronc riding event took place, he rode a bucking bronc for the full 8 seconds without even dropping the cigarette out of his mouth.

Check out my FULL GALLERY to see the other great shots of the Border Days action this year!  My favorite event is the “Wild Horse Race” where teams of three compete to see who can saddle and ride a wild horse first.  This year the horses were definitely wild and maybe a little crazy!  This video shows the great job the cowboys did though.

The last night of the rodeo usually ends with a treat of a concert.  This year the local band “Vintage Youth” treated us to some great classic rock!

You can always find information on the Grangeville Border Days Website.

Thanks for reading!  See ya next time!