NAMPA, Idaho — The Snake River Stampede opens next week at the Ford Idaho Center, but exactly 30 years ago, the rodeo was still being held at its original home in Nampa near Lakeview Park.
Today, part of that history is still tucked inside a green cavalry barn from the 1900s.
WATCH: Inside the cavalry barn still connecting the Snake River Stampede to its Nampa roots
The Snake River Stampede traces its roots back more than a century. Steve Tester, director of the Snake River Stampede, said the Stampede bought the barn from the cavalry in 1950.
Before that, Tester said the barn was used by the cavalry from the 1920s through the 1940s to keep horse teams that pulled artillery for the military.
Tester said some of that history is still visible inside the barn. Markings on the stall walls show the ages and names of the cavalry horses that once lived there.
After the Stampede bought the property, the barn became part of the rodeo’s operation. The same stalls that once held cavalry horses later held Stampede stock, rodeo-owned horses, and horses brought in by visiting stars.
Tester said those visiting stars included Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. Autry was the first star when the Stampede opened its new arena there in 1950.
For decades, the property was the rodeo’s home, and the attached apartment was home to the groundskeeper. But by the 1990s, Tester said the old outdoor arena had reached the end of its life.
The Stampede moved indoors to the Ford Idaho Center in 1997. Tester said that brought air conditioning, better parking, no thunderstorms, no dust clouds, and new production tools.
But the barn stayed part of the Stampede’s story. Today, it is mostly used for storage, including old wagons and pieces of rodeo history still brought out for Stampede week.
Tester said the barn has a lot of history and is one of the oldest buildings still standing in Nampa. He said the Stampede would like to see it retain its connection to the old West and the western way of life.
That connection can still be seen at the Ford Idaho Center. The logo on the barn and the green of the building were the inspiration for the paint job on the outside of the modern arena.
The Snake River Stampede runs from June 16 to 20 at the Ford Idaho Center. Ticket and schedule information can be found on the event's website.
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