{"id":2365291,"date":"2026-04-09T09:37:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T09:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2365291"},"modified":"2026-04-09T09:37:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T09:37:11","slug":"hondo-rodeo-fest-gallops-into-the-superdome-april-10-to-12-entertainment-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/hondo-rodeo-fest-gallops-into-the-superdome-april-10-to-12-entertainment-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Hondo Rodeo Fest gallops into the Superdome April 10 to 12 | Entertainment\/Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Last week, workers spread 115 truckloads of dirt on the floor of the Caesars Superdome. The soft carpet of earth is meant to break the falls of champion cowboys who will be flung off of furious bulls and bucking broncos during the Hondo Rodeo.<\/p>\n

The event, which runs Friday through Sunday, may or may not be the half-century-old Superdome\u2019s first rodeo, but it\u2019s surely the most deluxe. With $1 million in prize money each weekend, the touring rodeo fest attracts the best buckaroo athletes. And each day of the fest concludes with top-flight country music concerts.<\/p>\n

The Hondo Rodeo Fest<\/a> is the brainchild of James Trawick and business partner Blake \u201cWild Bill\u201d Cody. Trawick said that earlier in life he\u2019d competed as a rodeo cowboy, and Cody had been a rock \u2018n\u2019 roll musician. They both came close to stardom, he said, but \u201cnot close enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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James Trawick, CEO of the Hondo Rodeo Fest, speaks during the Hondo Rodeo Fest lunch and learn event at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (Staff photo by Brett Duke, The Times-Picayune)<\/p>\n

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\n STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE<\/span>
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While \u201clicking their wounds,\u201d Trawick said, the two men decided to try to curate the best traveling rodeo show anyone had ever seen. The Hondo Rodeo Fest debuted in Phoenix in 2024.<\/p>\n

Million dollar ropers and riders<\/h3>\n

The name, Hondo, was a nod to the 1953 John Wayne movie<\/a> and the small Texas town Trawick said. But it was mostly inspired by the all-important eyelet in a cowboy\u2019s rope that lets him lasso cattle, which is called a hondo. It\u2019s an insider\u2019s term, very resonant with the rodeo community, Trawick said.<\/p>\n

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Fans raise their Stetsons during the Hondo Rodeo in Phoenix in 2025\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n (Photo by Patrick Tewey, courtesy the Hondo Rodeo Fest)<\/span>
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What conventional rodeos lack, Trawick said, is predictability. Cowboys of various skill levels sign up to ride in regular rodeos, so fans can never be sure of the quality of the competition. The Hondo rodeo, on the other hand, is limited to 76 of the nation\u2019s best cowboy athletes, according to Trawick, who are invited to participate. He describes it as the Super Bowl or World Series of rodeos.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Winning cowboys will take home $100,000 in prize money, Trawick said. Star Louisiana cowpokes Shane Hanchey of Sulphur, Tyler Waguespack of Gonzales<\/a> and Kade Sonnier of Carencro<\/a> will be competing on home turf.<\/p>\n

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The twin rodeo rink and concert stage arrangment of the 2025 Hondo Rodeo Fest in Phoenix is similar to that planned for the Superdome<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n (Photo by Patrick Tewey, courtesy Hondo Rodeo Fest)<\/span>
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Inmates and rock stars<\/h3>\n

In addition, eight inmate riders from the Louisiana Penitentiary at Angola Prison rodeo<\/a> will perform in matches under state supervision. Winnings from those competitions<\/a> will be split between the Louisiana Victims Impact Fund and families of the convicts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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And after the last bull has been ridden and the last cow lassoed each day, comes music. Jason Aldean and southern rock legend Lynyrd Skynyrd take the stage Friday.<\/p>\n

Cody Johnson and Old Dominion appear on Saturday, and Florida grunge rockers Creed and Bailey Zimmerman close out the fest on Sunday.<\/p>\n

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Blake Cody, James Trawick and Kyle Denison, cowboys with Hondo Rodeo Fest, pose at Ochsner Children\u00d5s Hospital in Jefferson, La., Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)<\/p>\n

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\n STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER<\/span>
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To accommodate both rodeo rides and concerts, the rectangular Dome layout will be divided into thirds. The fenced rodeo section will stretch from the back of the endzone to the 30-yard line on one end. The raised concert stage will occupy the same area on the opposite side. In the middle is the prime floor viewing for both events. Seating on the Dome\u2019s lower decks will horseshoe both the rodeo and concert areas. Trawick said that maximum attendance is 28,000.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Jason Aldean performs during the Hondo Rodeo in Phoenix in 2025\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n (Photo courtesy Hondo Rodeo Fest) <\/span>
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Could become an annual event\u00a0<\/h3>\n

The state has committed $2 million<\/a> from Louisiana\u2019s Major Events Fund to support the inaugural Hondo rodeo in 2026. It was announced after\u00a0the loss of the annual WrestleMania extravaganza<\/a>, which decamped for Las Vegas this year. Trawick hopes the rodeo will become an annual event.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gov. Jeff Landry appears on The Hondo Rodeo Facebook page touting the upcoming event.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cowboy represents to me the icon of freedom and liberty and responsibility\u00a0\u2014 everything American stands for,\u201d Landry says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Sure, a championship rodeo and country music concert series may seem like an unlikely match for a city where bounce music rules and most people only see horses in Mardi Gras parades.<\/p>\n

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People gather for the Hondo Rodeo Fest lunch and learn event at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (Staff photo by Brett Duke, The Times-Picayune)<\/p>\n

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But, as Trawick pointed out, \u201call the surrounding areas that span the entire Gulf Coast are heavily agrarian communities, whether that be beef cattle or sugar cane. We are laser-focused on building an environment where those who have never experienced Western culture up close can do just that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that maybe the people who live that rural lifestyle every day \u201ccan enjoy it with some new friends and neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trawick said the Hondo Fest folks \u201cfeel really strongly about how rodeo as a sport and music as a form of entertainment can break through and bring a community together.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Championship ropers and riders will compete for a million-dollar purse during the Hondo Rodeo Fest in New Orleans<\/p>\n

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\n (Photo courtesy Hondo Rodeo Fest) <\/span>
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An all-day affair<\/h3>\n

The marathon fest begins at noon Friday and Saturday with a cowboy-oriented marketplace in Champions Square, which will include leather goods and other C&W crafts, plus food and beverage vendors and a \u201cmutton bustin\u2019\u201d mini rodeo for kids, featuring sheep instead of horses and bulls. On Sunday, the fest begins with an outdoor church service led by Duck Dynasty\u2019s Willie Robertson at 11:30 a.m.<\/p>\n

At 4 p.m. each day, the Superdome doors open, with the Angola Rodeo competition from 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., followed by the two-hour main-event rodeo. After the dust has settled, a DJ will provide music, leading up to the live two-hour-plus concerts, which will end at 11:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Admission ranges from $35 to $250, with VIP tickets as high as $1,000. Visit the Caesars Superdome website<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nola.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, workers spread 115 truckloads of dirt on the floor of the Caesars Superdome. The soft carpet of earth is meant to break the falls of champion cowboys who will be flung off of furious bulls and bucking broncos during the Hondo Rodeo. The event, which runs Friday through Sunday, may or may not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2365292,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[128321],"class_list":["post-2365291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-hardwall"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Hondo-Rodeo-Fest-gallops-into-the-Superdome-April-10-to.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2365291"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2365293,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365291\/revisions\/2365293"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2365292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2365291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2365291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2365291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}