88th Annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ Begins with Parade and Rodeo Run in Downtown Houston
Thousands of people gathered on Saturday morning, Feb. 29, in downtown Houston to watch runners, trail riders, floats and Howdy make their way through the city streets in the Downtown Rodeo Parade, officially kicking off the 2020 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
RODEO RUN
The 33rd annual Rodeo Run, presented by ConocoPhillips, led the celebration downtown and had more than 12,000 entries in the 10K race and 5K fun run/walk.
2020 Rodeo Run Winners
- 10K Overall Male – Calum Neff
- 10K Overall Female – Jackie Tobin
- 10K Masters Male – Roberto Moratilla
- 10K Masters Female – Lucia Rojas
- 5K Overall Male – Adolfo Gomez
- 5K Overall Female – Meredith Sorensen
- 5K Masters Male – Andy Kwan
- 5K Masters Female – Flora Lai
- 10K Wheelchair Overall Male – Jacob Allen
- 10K Wheelchair Overall Female – Skylar Herrera
DOWNTOWN RODEO PARADE
The Downtown Parade began at 10 a.m. and was led by eight grand marshals of both past and present Rodeo scholars, spanning more than 60 years.
2020 Grand Marshals
- Ben Dickerson, 1957 scholar, FFA Scholarship (Rodeo’s first Scholar)
- Bill Sarpalius, 1969 scholar, FFA Scholarship
- Dr. Gregg Knape, 1972, FFA Scholarship
- Misty Skaggs, 1989, 4-H Scholarship
- Ryan Levy, 1993, Metropolitan Scholarship
- Sarah Brubaker, 2006, Opportunity Scholarship
- Yuselmy Garza, 2010, Metropolitan Scholarship & 2013 Achievement Scholarship
- Jordan Pemberton, 2019, Houston Area Scholarship
Nearly 30 floats and wagons traveled the parade route which began at Bagby and Walker streets and concluded at Lamar and Bagby streets. Along the route, floats were judged based on creativity, originality and presentation.
2020 Parade Float Award Winners
- Sweepstakes – University of Houston
- Theme – Seller’s Brothers
- Originality – Goya
- Most Beautiful – Houston Community College
- Chairman’s Award – Houston Airport System
- President’s Award – La Michoacana
TRAIL RIDES
More than 2,000 trail riders from across Texas and Louisiana arrived in Memorial Park Friday, Feb. 28, just in time to lead the Downtown Rodeo Parade on Saturday morning. The 12 participating trail rides were Mission, Northeastern, Old Spanish, Prairie View, Salt Grass, Sam Houston, Southwest, Southwestern Trail Riders of Houston, Texas Cattlemen’s, Texas Independence, The Spanish and Valley Lodge.
Each trail ride was judged on appearance, authenticity and overall Western spirit.
2020 Trail Ride Winners
- Scott Bauman Spirit Award (in memory of past Trail Ride Committee Chair) – Mac Goldsby (Retiring after 60 years of Trail Riding with the Valley Lodge Trail Ride Association)
- Spirit Award – Prairie View
- Division I Award (Large Trail Ride: 145+ participants) – Prairie View
- Division II Award (Medium Trail Ride: 50 – 144 participants) – Southwest
- Division III Award (Small Trail Ride: 49 or fewer participants) – Texas Cattlemen’s
2020 Trail Ride Parade Winners
- Best Show Wagon – Texas Independence, Wagon 8
- Best Appearing Riders – Prairie View Trail Ride
- Top Trail Ride – Salt Grass
The 2020 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo begins Tuesday, March 3 and runs through March 22. Tickets start at just $20 at rodeohouston.com.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo promotes agriculture by hosting an annual, family-friendly experience that educates and entertains the public, supports Texas youth, showcases Western heritage and provides year-round educational support within the community. Since its beginning in 1932, the Rodeo has committed more than $500 million to the youth of Texas. For more information, visit rodeohouston.com and connect with RODEOHOUSTON online via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for all the latest news. The 2020 Rodeo is scheduled for March 3 – 22.