The Wild West is coming to Saratoga County.
Not everyone might realize it, but it does every summer at the Double M Western Store, where on Friday and Saturday nights from July 6 through Aug. 31 you can catch an honest-to-goodness rodeo.
“We do it because we love it and it helps the competitors,” said Double M’s Cindy Martin. She and husband Wayne Martin run the Route 67 store and rodeo shows.
The competitors are not paid performers, but they enter for prizes and awards. Dozens of contestants seek out the venue every year and come from as far away as Oklahoma and Texas to wrangle cattle.
Rodeos are preceded by barbeque dinners, should you opt for vittles and a show. Dinners start at 6 p.m. and rodeos at 8 p.m. For $15 you can get in to the show, and for $27 you’ll get the food, too. Children’s ticket prices are $5 for the rodeo and $12 including the barbeque.
“It’s a great family fun event … every show is different,” said Martin.
Double M started putting on the rodeos in 1987 through Martin’s mother-in-law and father-in-law, Kathy and Ron Martin. Ron brought the show to Double M after first organizing them in the ‘70s at Lake Luzerne’s Painted Pony Ranch.
Not only are the shows good for competitors and those watching, they’re also good for the community.
In the past, Double M has sponsored rodeo nights for Saratoga Hospital, Ballston Spa National Bank and CAPTAIN. Organizations can hold 50/50raffles and other fundraising efforts on their sponsored night. This year, Double M will be sponsoring Paws and Claws, among others.
The variety of the rodeo is vast. In one night, you’re bound to see up to 150 contestants vying for top cowboy or cowgirl in events like barrel racing, bull riding, bareback riding and steer roping.
“People come from all over like Lake George, from about a three-hour radius for the show,” said Martin.
A hometown audience will be among those watching the show as a group outing on Friday, July 13. The Southern Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce will be in attendance that evening at one of their monthly mixers.
“We were looking for some kind of out-of-the-box events, especially for the summer when things are a little more laid-back businesswise for a lot of people – and it goes along with our 45th Anniversary Celebration … we wanted to engage the members,” said Loretta Rigney, the chamber’s vice president and director of marketing and communication.
Originally, the chamber was just going to do a traditional mixer on the grand front porch of Double M, but when Rigney got talking with Cindy Martin, the concept evolved. Rigney said she took the idea back to the chamber staff and they loved it.
“We’re inviting the members to come and network, have a barbeque dinner with us and to bring their family and bring their kids. … This is something they can come to and feel part of the chamber family.”
“We always like to go to new places,” she added. “We try to find places that people maybe haven’t gone to yet. … We’re always telling people to think and buy local, find out what’s in your area and then get involved.”
For more on the rodeo visit doublemwestern.com.