Granite Shoals hosts ‘show-deo’ on Oct. 8
Charros, or Mexican cowboys, will be part of the entertainment at U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship on Oct. 8 in Granite Shoals. Courtesy photo
This ain’t your average rodeo. The third-ever U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship locks horns with the first-ever Texas Pink Jamboree music festival for a memory-making hoedown on Sunday, Oct. 8, at Quarry Park in Granite Shoals.
The championship will be broadcast on the 24-hour Cowboy Channel, the official network of ProRodeo. Some 42 million homes around the world will have access to the bulldogging battle in the tiny lakeshore town of Granite Shoals, population 5,222.
The co-joined events combine Texas and Tejano cultures with musical acts on stage and action in the arena.
“What I’m trying to do is bring stuff that I saw during my career at the biggest rodeos and all the county fairs and state fairs that we went to,” said event organizer Todd Fox. “I want to bring that in and mix up the culture. We’ll have American cowboys and Mexican cowboys in the same arena.”
Amid the steer wrestling, mutton busting, and goat roping, world-famous “Charro on the Road” Tomas Garcilazo will rope in the audience with a must-see performance.
Mexico’s version of a rodeo, charrería, places heavy emphasis on horsemanship, rope work, and style. Garcilazo honed his charro skills into a dazzling show he performs around the world, including Canada, Mexico, and Europe. He has entertained at the White House and multiple Mexican presidents.
“(Garcilazo) is a world champion charro,” Fox said. “He’s absolutely amazing. He’s worth the price of admission alone.”
Garcilazo is just part of the spectacle. The day begins with the Leon Bauerle Cowboy Reunion Breakfast at 8 a.m., honoring the memory of the esteemed cowboy who was a mentor to generations of other cowboys, including Fox.
The steer wrestling qualifiers kick off at 10 a.m. with the final four eventually competing head to head for first place. Goat roping and mutton busting competitions follow.
The music begins at noon with local country artists Pauline Reese and John Arthur Martinez. Following are Eddie Shell and the Not Guilties, Fitted and Flannels, Tejano legend Flaco Jiménez and Los Texmaniacs, the cosmic cowboy Gary P. Nunn, Diamond Dixie, and breakout country artist Jesse Raub Jr., who will close out the night.
Fox singled out Jiménez as a particularly exciting act.
“Flaco Jiménez is 85 years old, he has played with the Rollings Stones and Bob Dylan, and he’s a Grammy winner,” he said. “This guy is a freaking living legend, and we’ve got him in Granite Shoals, Texas, on a Sunday afternoon.”
The idea for the intertwined events took root on the pickleball courts in Quarry Park by Granite Shoals City Hall. Fox, a former pro steer wrestler who now runs his family’s business, Mark Fox Real Estate in Marble Falls, realized during a game that the park would be a great venue for any number of major events.
He put on the first U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship in Wimberley and brought the second championship to Marble Falls in 2022, where it was recorded and shown at a later date on the Cowboy Channel. He pitched city leadership in March on the idea of moving the event to Granite Shoals and adding the musical aspect.
“I am a Marble Falls, Texas, boy and 100 percent registered river rat,” Fox said. “In the same sense that I’m a Marble Falls boy through and through, I’m a Granite Shoals boy through and through.”
The city of Granite Shoals not only agreed to host the event, they rolled out the pink granite gravel carpet. The City Council approved the use of up to $40,000 in hotel occupancy tax funds to make improvements to Quarry Park and city property and spent months doing so. Several acres of land were cleared to provide better parking and rough terrain was leveled to make it more walkable.
Fox and daughters Maegen Fox-Kuykendall and Macy Fox collaborated to put on what they call a “show-deo.” Third daughter Ferran Fox is taking care of the real estate business at home base. While Macy organizes the steer wrestling competition, Maegen is in charge of the Texas Pink Jamboree.
“I’m a lot like my father in that, when we set our minds to something, we just go at it full speed,” Fox-Kuykendall said. “We’re hoping this brings in a crowd from all over Texas.”
She grew up with her father in the rodeo world and has developed a passion for the spectacle of it all. But the combined championship and music festival are more than just entertainment.
“We hope that this is a generational event,” Fox-Kuykendall said. “We want to make this a tradition where memories are made. (Our family) is closely knit, and our dad has been an inspiration to all of us. When he says, ‘Let’s do it,’ we’re behind it 100 percent. I just thought this would be a great thing for the city of Marble Falls and the city of Granite Shoals.”
Quarry Park is located at 2221 N. Phillips Ranch Road in Granite Shoals. The gate opens at 8 a.m. Oct. 8 with every minute packed until the “show-deo” closes at 9:45 p.m. Tickets are $30 for general admission and $60 for VIP. Children 12 and younger get in free with parental supervision. Tickets are available online.