The Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo will celebrate the 20th year of its Annual Dinner, Draw Down & Dance

The premise was simple: Create a fundraiser that would be an enjoyable night out to help raise money and awareness about the community’s biggest annual event.
Now, though, the Guymon Pioneer Days Draw Down, Dinner & Dance has become a staple and a chance for like-minded people to come together for a chance to carry on a tradition. This year’s event will take place at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, in the hospitality building at the Henry C. Hitch Pioneer Arena.
“When our committee came up with this idea, we thought it would be a good chance to get the word out and raise a little bit of money for our rodeo,” said Ken Stonecipher, the group’s chairman and a longtime member of the volunteer organization. “We had no idea that it would still be going on this long. Obviously, this has been a big deal for a long time, but we keep doing things to make it bigger and better.”
Tickets are $100 per couple and include two prime-rib meals and one draw-down entry. Numbers are drawn one by one, and each draw will eliminate a player. The last number standing wins the grand prize.
“We’ve increased our prize to $10,000 for this year to celebrate our anniversary,” Stonecipher said. “That’s something we wanted to do this year for Pioneer Days Rodeo and for the folks in this community who have supported us for so long.”
The rodeo will take place the first weekend in May, with performances set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 2; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 3; and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 4, at the arena. The celebration begins, though, two and a half months prior to the opening competition, which typically features around 1,000 contestants.
Pioneer Days Rodeo provides the biggest economic impact annually to Texas County, so every aspect of the celebration is vital to Guymon and the surrounding communities.
“We’ve had tremendous support over the years,” Stonecipher said. “Our rodeo was one of the first tour events that was nationally televised 25 years ago, and a lot of that goes to how this community comes together for it. We’re still nationally televised and will be part of The Cowboy Channel’s broadcast schedule again.
“None of that happens without the people in Guymon, in Texas County, who have been with us for so many years and with the new sponsors and partners we get.”
That’s another big reason the Dinner, Draw Down & Dance is important to the rodeo committee; it’s a chance to thank supporters while also providing entertainment that includes live music by 9 Eyes, a band based in Amarillo.
“Since the beginning, we’ve always tried to make this a fun night,” Stonecipher said. “We want to continue that for as long as we can.”