Sandwich Fairgrounds to transform into Wild West with 1st Sandwich Stampede

SANDWICH — The Sandwich Fairgrounds will look a bit like the Wild West in just over a week’s time. Sandwich Stampede organizer Scott Crowder knows for many in the area, this will literally be their first rodeo.

The Sandwich Stampede will take place Friday and Saturday, July 17-18, when professional cowboys and cowgirls will compete in sanctioned rodeo events, and rodeo patrons will have a chance to take in a true Western experience. 

For nearly two decades, Crowder has brought competitive pond hockey to the Lakes Region, and around the country. While out in Montana, for a pond hockey event, Crowder attended a rodeo, and had the idea it could be something perfect for New Hampshire.

“It really kind of stemmed from a couple different stops,” Crowder said. “We hosted a pond hockey classic, in Montana, for five years, and spent a lot of time there. And a guy working there was involved in starting the Bigfork Rodeo.”

The Bigfork Rodeo started in 2018, and takes place each summer around Independence Day. Crowder said this is a marquee event in that region, which isn’t so much different than rural New Hampshire. This helped spark the idea of bringing something like it to the Lakes Region.

“It’s cowboy country out West, but it is actually similar,” Crowder said. “We went out a few years ago, with the wife and kids, and had an absolute blast.”

Crowder said when leaving the Sandwich Fairgrounds the last few years, he thought, “what a beautiful location.” One thing led to another, and suddenly Crowder was putting together a rodeo, with the help of some experts, including stock contractor Painted Pony Championship Rodeo, from Lake George, New York.

The Sandwich Stampede is sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, the largest and oldest organization of its kind, as well as the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association. These organizations have put on hundreds of rodeos across North America, and cowboys and cowgirls will be competing, with points going toward their standings.

“This is the highest level of professional rodeo out there,” Crowder said.

The Stampede will have eight events commonly seen at rodeos.

Bareback riding requires riders to stay on a bucking horse for eight seconds, using only one hand to hold on. Steer wrestling is where cowboys jump from a horse to wrestle a steer to the ground.

Team roping involves a pair of cowboys working together to rope a steer, with one by the head and another from the heels. Saddle bronc riding is a “classic” event where riders use a specialized saddle to ride a bucking horse.

The cowgirl barrel race has participants racing around three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern, in a timed event. The cowgirl breakaway roping event involves women roping a calf, with the rope breaking away from the saddle horn when the animal is caught.

Tie-down roping involves cowboys roping a calf, dismounting, and tying three of its legs together.

Bull riding is the most dangerous event of the Stampede, and requires riders to stay on a bucking bull for eight seconds.

Crowder said rodeos aren’t really that far outside his wheelhouse. His father, former professional hockey player Bruce Crowder, is Canadian, and once took him to the Calgary Stampede, when he was in high school. He said this was an “amazing trip,” and led to his love for the event, but it was re-discovering the rodeo several years back that secured the idea.

“Going to Montana, through pond hockey, really added to it,” Crowder said. “I felt this was such a cool culture, with a lot of high energy. And it’s a family-friendly event.”

Crowder said, for whatever reason, there aren’t many rodeos in the Northeast, outside New York.

“But there’s an appetite for it,” Crowder said. “With 'Yellowstone,' and the love of country music, so many have wanted to at least be a cowboy for a day.”

Crowder is excited to continue bringing high-level entertainment to the Lakes Region, in the spirit of what he started nearly two decades ago with the Pond Hockey Classic. Each year, the New England Pond Hockey Classic brings thousands of people to the Lakes Region to watch hockey, in a party environment with live music, food, and beverages. This will also be the case at the Sandwich Stampede.

“My hope and goal is to put together a premier, marquee event in the Lakes Region,” Crowder said.

The events will take place on Friday and Saturday, July 17-18. The parking lot opens at 3 p.m., and doors open at 5 p.m. The area includes a festival village called Stampede Street, complete with a stage where the Houston Bernard Band will play country music, and the Stampede Street Saloon serving an array of adult beverages.

He also said Blackout Country Line Dancing will be presented by the Commonwealth Cowboy Clinics, and the Common Man Food Corral will provide plenty of grub. The event includes a mechanical bull, axe throwing, a kids tractor pull, roping stations, and photo booths.

The opening ceremony and rodeo will take place at 6:30 p.m. each day, and Stampede Street will close at night.

“It’s going to be a really fun vibe,” Crowder said. “This area has a lot going on with hiking and the lake, but we hope this event, that post-July 4 opportunity to enjoy this spectacle in the form of a professional rodeo.”

For additional information, including about tickets, visit sandwichstampede.com.