If you hear “Cowtown”, you’re most likely to picture a remote village out West where cows and bulls are rounded up by hardy cowboys in chaps and Stetsons. But you’d be wrong about where to find it, it’s actually a 2,000 acre Western ranch and rodeo in Pilesgrove, New Jersey, about a hundred miles from New York City and an hour outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Harris Family worked together in establishing what is now known as the “oldest weekly professional rodeo in the United States.” Started back in 1929, Cowtown Rodeo has stood the test of time, remaining true to the traditions of the Old West and bringing a taste of western ranching to the East Coast. It’s a slice of American history come to life. Surprisingly, it’s the longest running weekly professional rodeo in the USA and they’re in their 68th consecutive year. They stage performances every Saturday night in season, May through September.
But Cowtown is also where the Madison Square Garden Championship Rodeo all begins. The snorting livestock that will impress you in the yearly rodeo event on Eighth Avenue live here in Pilesgrove, and belong to a cowboy businessman who is the 11th generation of his family to run cattle in New Jersey.
Harold Harris 3d is co‐producer and stock contractor to the Madison Square rodeo. The big Eastern roundup draws contestants from the Western chutes and cowboy showmen from throughout the country to give a closeup look at cowboy life to thousands of East Coast metropolitan area fans looking for something that evokes cowboy lore.
What does it take to bring a rodeo to Madison Square Garden? For sure, supplying the hundred or more head of stock a day for the events is no easy task. It involves turning the Garden into the great outdoors, bringing at least 1.6 million pounds of real dirt that must be spread on the arena floor, stalls to be built, and feed stocked up. Contestants must also be registered and prizes considered.
Mr. Harris shrugs off the logistical complications: “It’s just a hundred miles or so up the Turnpike….I’ve been raising cattle and running rodeos here and in New England and Virginia since I graduated from college,” he said. “I reckon livestock is part of my life; I was born to it.”
As for his opinion on what makes a good bronc or a good cowboy, Mr. Harris thinks they have a lot in common. “They’ve got to have a natural desire, be rebellious, enjoy a challenge and be obstinate, persistent and independent.”
The rodeo season at Cowtown is not over, you can still enjoy a performance till September 24.
REGULAR Rodeo runs Every Saturday Night May – September 24.
Gates Open @ 6:00 pm, Rodeo Starts @ 7:30 pm
You can buy tickets here.
