Wild Thing bullriding returns to Red Rock Park this weekend
Red Rock Park drew packed stands, five returning champions and riders from across the West for Wild Thing, with prize money and fundraiser proceeds tied to Manuelito Children's Home.
Red Rock Park’s 5,000-seat arena in Church Rock drew one of its biggest summer crowds for the 33rd Annual Wild Thing Championship Bullriding, a two-night show that started at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and put prize money, parking revenue and concession sales into play for Manuelito Children’s Home.
The weekend carried more than a rodeo bill. Families, visiting fans and vendors filled the park at 5757 Red Rock Park Dr. for an event long treated as one of the strongest summer draws in the Gallup area, where a single program can pull in food, lodging, fuel and shopping dollars across McKinley County. Visit Gallup listed the competition with more than $26,000 in prize payouts and said the weekend was capped by a fireworks display.
Five returning champions added a built-in storyline to the field. Promoter Larry Peterson said Friday’s lineup was expected to be nearly as strong as Saturday’s, a sign the competition was not being held back for a single marquee night. Riders came in from Diné communities and from Texas, the Dakotas, Wyoming and North Carolina, giving the event a mix of local identity and wide regional reach.
The stock backed up the field. Bulls came from 4B Bucking Bulls, Owen Washburn and Flying S, which kept the show aligned with the kind of top-level competition that has helped Wild Thing build its reputation beyond McKinley County. Visit Gallup has described the event as the number one open bullriding event in the Southwest.
City records have shown how much the weekend matters to the park and the charities tied to it. A Gallup municipal agenda described Wild Thing as one of the largest events held at Red Rock Park every year, noting that the organizer routinely sells out the stands and had expected 4,000 people for Friday and 5,000 for Saturday at a related event. Those same records said proceeds benefit Manuelito Children’s Home.
The event’s scale has been clear in past years as well. Navajo Times reported 90 bull riders entered the 31st annual Wild Thing in 2024, and in 2025 Lane Nobles of Texas scored 92 points aboard Firebrand #03, a 4B Bucking Bulls bull. Red Rock Park’s annual sellout tradition has made Wild Thing a fixture of the Gallup-Church Rock calendar, where a rodeo weekend doubles as a fundraiser and a regional gathering.
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