Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo kicks off with plenty for visitors to see, buy, eat
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2023 Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo
Yeehaw! Here’s your one-stop shop for everything to know about this year’s stock show & rodeo.
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Thousand will pass through the doors at the Will Rogers Memorial Center to enjoy everything the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo has to offer — starting Friday and through Feb. 4.
This Fort Worth tradition has everything for everyone: from youth livestock exhibits to the rodeo. Entertainment acts from the comedy of Larry the Cable Guy to a concert with country star John Montgomery. The rodeo events at Dickies Arena are ticketed separately. But there are many free entertainment performances available through the course of the stock show.
But the star of this show are the animals.
Wilson Daggs, FFA Children’s Barnyard supervisor, doesn’t have a ranch background or own any farm animals, but he said this is the fourth year he’s worked the barnyard at the stock show.
“The Children’s Barnyard is set up to draw children’s interest in and of course children are drawn to the babies because they’re little too,” he said.
During the week, school children will go through the exhibit on class field trips to look and learn about the animals. Seeing the children come in for field trips is almost a full-circle moment for Daggs, who remembers visiting the exhibit as a child in the ‘60s.
The animals involved come from different owners or breeders who bring them in and help care for them throughout the show. Although the animals are in pens, Daggs said their owners will stop by and let them out for exercise throughout the day.
“You will not find anybody who cares more for animals than the owners,” Daggs said.
Stock show shoppers bonanza
The first morning of the stock show, as you’d expect, was a bit on the slow side. Foot traffic into the Amon G. Carter Exhibit Hall slowly built up as the day progressed. Booths selling boots, hats, vests and every other souvenir a visitor could want were all set up and ready to sell.
Visitors can shop western wear including jeans, jackets, boots, gloves, belts and truly anything a cowboy or cowgirl might need. Several custom retailers are in-house, ready to shape cowboy hats or embroider any kind of wearable gear.
Felt cowboy hats at the Sombrero Brands booth inside the Richardson-Bass Building start at $325 and go up to $975 depending on the quality of felt.
Cowboy boots are also on sale, starting at $450 at the Serna Boots booth. This year is owner Ernesto Serna’s first year selling boots at the Fort Worth Stock Show. He said in previous years he was waitlisted, but this year his booth stands among the other vendors near Sombrero Brands.
Western paintings, knives, leather belts and a plethora of Southwest patterned clothes are also for sale inside the building, which is where the John Justin Arena is located.
Merchandise from the popular television drama “Yellowstone” were up on shelves inside a booth next door to a stall with logo gear from the real-life 6666 Ranch. The ranch located in the Texas Panhandle is featured on the TV show.
Beyond shopping, visitors can look at the newest Chevrolet trucks, take a load off on Mattress Firm beds and even change their electricity or television provider.
By Friday afternoon, the livestock barns were slowly becoming occupied by cows, longhorns, pigs, goats and sheep. Exhibitors will show and auction off their livestock in the days to come. Inside the FFA Children’s Barnyard located in the livestock barns, guests could see grown and baby animals including sheep, goats, donkeys, turkeys, chickens, rabbits and pigs.
You won’t go hungry around here
Outside the exhibit hall is a mashed potato stand, yes, you read that right, a mashed potato stand.
Idahoan Foods, who makes a variety of instant mashed potatoes, has a large outdoor booth right outside the Amon G. Carter Exhibit Hall.
The booth is part of the company’s “Mashed in America” tour, going across the country serving up free potato cups, tour manager Dan Enger said.
“When something is free, people think there’s a catch,” he said. “Here it’s just free.”
Visitors can come in, grab a warm buttery home style mashed potato cup, eat and hangout in the outdoor eating area. There’s even a photo opportunity on the stuffed “coach potato”.
This is the first time Idahoan has been at the stock show and they’ll be here for the entire duration, Enger said.
Other food options can be found at the Round Up Inn, a food court housed inside the Will Rogers Memorial Center.
There is Tad’s Bodacious Burritos and Breakfast is serving up $14 burritos, from chipotle beef, to garlic chicken. Burger and Chili shack has a $10 double cheeseburger and $9 chili Fritos pie.
If you have a sweet tooth, try a $6 single-serving cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes. Flavors include chocolate, chocolate chip, lemon and many more.
Other food items available include a grilled cheese for $6, a cobb salad for $9, popcorn for $7 and a pretzel for $9.
Beverage costs vary, but a bottle of water, cold soda or hot coffee, usually sets you back about $3 a piece.
Enjoy the stock show on a budget
So you’re heading to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, but don’t have a large budget. What is there to do? Well, there’s plenty.
Ground admission is the first thing visitors will be paying for and that sets you back $12. However, the stock show has several discounted days that could help cut costs.
Solely by wearing certain clothes on discounted days will gain you free entry. Wearing Dickies clothing on Jan. 17, Texas A&M on Jan. 19, TCU on Jan. 26 and Texas Tech on Jan. 31, will get you in free.
The stock show has its own carnival with amusement rides, games and ferris wheel trips.
Located in the north east part of the area, the carnival is completely cashless and everything runs on credits. One credit equals $1 and people can reload their card at kiosks in the vicinity.
A trip on the ferris wheel costs four credits, a spin on rotating amusement rides is four credits, sliding down the super slide is four credits and going though a “Monkey Maze” is five credits.
Carnival games are also on-site, ranging in cost from a few credits to more than a few if you keep trying for that special stuffed animal.
Then there are the freebies.
A slew of activities around the stock show grounds are free and open to the public.
Browsing around the various livestock barns are free and encouraged by participants. Visitors can see cows, goats, rabbits, horses and even baby chicks for free.
The petting zoo is free, but will cost $2 a cone if you wish to feed the animals. Various food vendors are also offering free samples on select products.
This story was originally published January 13, 2023 at 4:36 PM.
