CALDWELL — The Caldwell Night Rodeo brings contestants of families that have competed at the CNR for generations.
“I have been barrel racing all of my life ever since I was a little tiny kid, and my mom actually got me into barrel racing, she was a professional barrel racer as well," Megan McLeod-Sprague, professional barrel racer said. "It has been in the family for generations."
A sport McLeod-Sprague now shares with her 9-year-old daughter Marka and four-year-old son Smokey, who also went viral at the Snake River Stampede.
"I grew up rodeoing, my mom and dad both did rodeo at the professional level and the dynamic really comes full circle now that my daughter is doing it my son is doing it, and it just makes it so special because there just aren’t very many professional sports that you can compete with your kids,” Megan said.
“We moved to the country and we had a lot of horses, so I have been around horses a long time, and the first time I saw my mom run barrels I was just thinking that is what I want to do,” Marka said.
Their family has been coming to the Caldwell Night Rodeo since the beginning, a rodeo with rich history and a place they can share and preserve their Western Heritage.
"It is kind of incredible. You always hope your kids follow in your footsteps especially in an ever-changing world," Megan said. "I think we get away from our morals and our values a little bit easier than we used to and this rodeo is a lot of what that family orientation is to me."
Megan and Marka were even able to ride barrels the same night.
"It is not always possible at these to get up at the same night that she’s up, but we were very fortunate to drop on the same night this year, and to me that just makes it even more special because we get to share that together," Megan said.
The lessons from this rodeo continue to be passed on to the next generation.
"It’s funny because one thing my mom always told me that I have passed onto her is to just have fun because that is the most important thing," Megan said. "If you are having fun, win or lose, you are still going to learn something and that is the way that we progress."
For nearly 100 years the Caldwell Night Rodeo has also been a family tradition for many other rodeo families here in the Gem State and beyond.
"I have been to rodeos all over the country and the crowd here is one of the best crowds there is in professional rodeo," Megan said. "The atmosphere is amazing, everybody is ready to be here and excited to be a part of the Caldwell Night Rodeo."
