89th annual Gladewater Round-Up runs June 10-13

Breakaway roping. Calf roping. Team roping. Steer wrestling. Barrel racing. Bull riding.
It’s all on tap once again this June, and in 2026 the fun stretches across not four but five evenings of the Gladewater Round-Up Rodeo next week.
Tuesday night ‘Slack’ opens this year’s activities before the main events June 10-13.
Gates open at 6 p.m. nightly with each evening’s Mutton Bustin’ challenge beginning at 7:45 p.m. and the night’s event starting at 8:15 – on Wednesday its the Xtreme Bulls Kick-off followed by the PRCA Rodeo action Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Wednesday will also be the John Quintana Memorial Bull Riding – “He was a heck of a cowboy,” says director Kyle Moore – before half-price ticket night Thursday for veterans, military and first responders. This year’s Handicapable Rodeo is set for 9 a.m. to 11 the morning of June 13th, a free event for individuals with disabilities and their families.
Any names that stand out on this year’s roster?
“All of ’em,” Moore said. “All of these cowboys and cowgirls have great stories. They’re traveling the country, they’re doing what they love to do.
“It’s an American sport that ought to be followed like football. It is, to a certain degree, by folks like me that have rodeo’d all their life.”
It certainly packs the stands at the Gladewater Round-Up Rodeo area.
“We’ve done pretty good the last few years with our folks coming,” Moore said. Just so, considering the legacy of the local event: “It’s one of the best rodeos around. We’re 89 years old. Next year’s our 90th birthday. We’ve been doing it a long time.
“When you think about how many rodeos are going to be 90 years-old, there’s a few of them out there, but ain’t that many close to us.”
The Round-Up’s decades-long story is digitized at GladewaterRodeo.com, Moore said, but the place to really dig in is Gladewater Museum.
“That’s a great place to go and learn the history of our rodeo, pointing rodeo history buffs and new fans alike to 116 W. Pacific Ave. “That’s an interesting story, how it came to be back in the oil boom.”
Meanwhile, “We’ll see you at rodeo time…