Sterling to host two-day CJRA rodeo at Logan County Fairgrounds

Sterling’s Logan County Fairgrounds turned into a weekend hub for youth rodeo as the Colorado Junior Rodeo Association brought its two-day stop to town on May 16 and 17. The action began at noon Saturday and at 9 a.m. Sunday, with juniors and peewees running first so seniors at the High School Cutting Finals could make it to Sterling in time.

The rodeo was held in the indoor arena, a practical choice that kept the event from being tied to the weather and gave the fairgrounds another use for a space that serves the county year-round. Organizers listed stalls or outdoor catch pens at $25 per night, hook-ups at $35 per night and a $20 cleaning deposit per stall, refundable after the stalls were cleaned. Stall reservations were taken by email, and confirmations posted for the Sterling stop said the stalls were sold out, a sign of how quickly the event drew families hauling horses, trailers and gear into town.

The Sterling rodeo also fit into a broader junior circuit that stretched across Colorado this season, with stops in Eaton, Latigo in the Black Forest and Elbert area, Hugo, Akron and the CJRA Finals in Lamar later in the summer. A Cowboy Church gathering hosted by the Sharon Family added another layer to the weekend, underscoring that the rodeo was as much about community as competition.

That matters in Logan County, where the fairgrounds are built for more than one event and more than one audience. County officials say the complex is available for horse shows, farm equipment demonstrations, 4-H and FFA contests, home and trade shows, craft fairs, flea markets, wedding receptions, dances and reunions. The fairgrounds also expanded in 2024 with the addition of the Mitchek Event Center, while a local foundation helped fund overhead lighting for the indoor arena, investments that keep the site active for rodeo, livestock and civic use.

The county’s agricultural roots help explain why a junior rodeo still draws attention in Sterling. Logan County’s official history notes that a fair was perfected in 1897 and that a 1925 newspaper described the area as Colorado’s champion agricultural district. More than a century later, a weekend like this kept that identity visible, with young riders competing where local families have long gathered to watch county tradition in motion.