KISSIMMEE, Fla. – For 80 years, people from all over the world have been coming to the 34744 ZIP code to experience the Silver Spurs Rodeo.
It’s a fast-paced, action-packed tradition with plenty of hooves and boots, bucking broncos and rodeo queens, entertaining generations of families in Kissimmee for 80 years.
“In 1941, some ranchers got together and they started the quadrille and participated in some events in Tallahassee,” said Sara Berlinsky, the “Big Boss” of the Silver Spurs Riding Club. “In 1944, they threw their first official dress rodeo and the price of admission was a war bond. It was a way to give back to the community and support the war effort in America.”
Their efforts didn’t stop there.
“We just kept going and growing. They built an arena over here in Kissimmee and I believe in 1999, we tore it down and we started on this arena, and we still give back to organizations. We’ve given over $500,000 since the year 2000,” Berlinsky said.
The organization has become a symbol of pride in the community, but its reach is now worldwide. Today, the Silver Spurs Rodeo is the largest rodeo east of the Mississippi.
“The Quadrille is a group of riders and it’s basically square dancing on horseback and we are famous for it,” Berlinsky said. “They just went to the Rose Parade in California this year.”
Today, the Silver Spurs Riding Club has more than 300 members and over the years they’ve held 153 rodeos. The Club ensures that old traditions are carried into the future.
“Osceola County was based on ranching and citrus for years and years and years, and I think it’s changed most drastically, probably in the last 20 to 15 years, so we’re just trying to keep all the traditions alive,” Berlinsky said. “We have rodeo day, which a lot of people don’t understand that when they move in, but it’s a holiday where kids get the day off from school and they get to come to the rodeo and fair.”
While most rodeos feature seven main events, from bull riding to barrel racing, for the past 35 years, the Silver Spurs has had an extra, special event.
“We invite kids from the community who are special needs and their families to come out and they participate in a mock rodeo,” Berlinsky said. “They get to do some horseback riding, some roping, they meet the queens they get on the famous Big Blue Boot and then they are invited to stay at the end for the Sunday performance.”
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