Guymon Pioneer Days kicks off with local voices, rodeo royalty previews

Carson Kane joined Miss Rodeo Kansas Rebecca Thornton and Miss Rodeo Oklahoma Landry Layton as Guymon’s Pioneer Days weekend got underway, putting familiar local voices at the center of an event that once again drew thousands to Henry C. Hitch Pioneer Arena on Sunset Lane.

The Friday, May 1, Broadcast Square segment landed in the middle of the county’s busiest celebration, when the rodeo, parade traffic and arena crowds converged on Guymon. For residents and visitors, the timing mattered: Pioneer Days ran May 1 through May 3, with live ProRodeo performances scheduled for Thursday evening, Saturday afternoon and evening, and Sunday afternoon.

Pioneer Days is more than a rodeo. The Guymon Chamber of Commerce describes it as a week-long celebration built around a city-wide parade, carnival, 5K run and walk, rodeo queen crowning, mercantile craft show, trail riders, golf tournament and mutton bustin’. The event has deep roots in the Depression era of the 1930s, and it remains one of the most recognizable gatherings in the Oklahoma Panhandle.

The rodeo itself has grown into a major destination. TravelOK says it draws top athletes and visitors from a surrounding five-state region, and the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo now offers prize money in excess of $275,000. It was voted the PRCA’s Large Outdoor Rodeo of the Year in 2002 and was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2015, a sign of how far the Guymon event has traveled from its early days while staying tied to local tradition.

The arena on Sunset Lane is part of that history too. Henry C. Hitch Pioneer Arena was constructed in the late 1960s on city land, purpose-built to host the event that still anchors Guymon’s spring calendar. The Chamber and local officials also pointed attendees toward Hurliman Road, 12th Street or SW 5th to reach the arena, while noting free admission and parking courtesy of Seaboard Foods.

Rebecca Shea Thornton brought her own rodeo resume into the spotlight. The 25-year-old, originally from Concordia, Kansas, and now based in Hepler, Kansas, has held titles including NCK Saddle Club Queen, Miss Rodeo Junction City 2019 and Miss CPRA 2024. Alongside Landry Layton and Carson Kane, she helped frame Pioneer Days the way Guymon knows it best: as a weekend where civic pride, tourism and rodeo competition meet in one crowded stretch of Sunset Lane.