Teton Ridge American Western Weekend Grows to New Heights

Since acquiring The American Rodeo in late 2021, Teton Ridge has been devoted to elevating the iconic western way of life and the performance sports that are held so dear, to a national stage - all while building out the iconic event to fully live up to its potential thereby creating greater industry and athlete opportunities for years to come.  

“At its heart, Teton Ridge is rooted in the culture and community of the American West," said Deirdre Lester, Chief Executive Officer of Teton Ridge. "In addition to celebrating the history and traditions of the western way of life, it is our mission to build upon that foundation and grow these time-honored sports so that they are thriving for many generations to come." 

Following two nights of action-packed western sports competition featuring world-class talent for more than 40,000 fans at Globe Life Field in March - Teton Ridge, reflects on the positive milestones of 2024 and looks toward even further growth in 2025.  

As the enhanced national sporting event celebrated its 11th anniversary in 2024, it saw a multitude of success toward future growth and sustainment of the western industry overall - starting with a multi-year agreement with Globe Life Field as the host arena and then a landmark multi- year agreement with FOX Sports as the broadcast partner for The American Contender Tournament Regionals Finals, The American Performance Horseman, and The American Rodeo. 

“Through monumental partnerships this past year, Teton Ridge is not only making strides for the athletes in western and performance horse sports but also expanding audience and awareness on a much wider, global scale," Lester continued. "Having FOX as our broadcast partner has grown this exciting platform in such a short time. Seeing expansive growth in viewers, in addition to those following along digitally and across various media channels gives a renewed sense of excitement to the industry overall.”

Having made the move to Globe Life Field in 2023, the world-class 1.8 million square foot, innovative Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium and entertainment venue holds the distinctive capabilities to provide a home truly worthy of the magnitude of the talent competing across the weekend as well as giving sports fans, equine enthusiasts and more attending the weekend as well as tuning in on FOX an elevated experience. 

Across the leadup Regional Finals events, The American Performance Horseman and The American Rodeo FOX Sports saw a monumental 5.7 million combined viewers tunning in and enhancing the allure of these sports amongst the mainstream. 

A total 1.5 million of that incredible audience was solely focused on The American Rodeo Championship Round on March 16, 2024 on FOX. 

The milestone partnership and the audience growth it created will resonate across the western industry overall for decades to come.

Through widening the audience reach and building upon large-scale partnerships like that with FOX - western sports athletes and those engrained in the industry will ultimately reap the true benefits overall. Growing, record-topping, lifechanging payouts will begin to pave the way for ensuring that these sports and their athletes don’t lose momentum. 

The American Western Weekend’s positive impact on the industry continued with a record $4.6 million paid out to western sports athletes in 2024. 

Lester reflects “As Teton Ridge looks ahead to 2025 and fosters even further growth industry-wide, the goal remains to continue to generate new and long-term support of western sports, their athletes, sponsors, events and more on a wider scale.”

In continuing to broaden audiences for rodeo and performance horse sports overall, another area of extreme growth Teton Ridge cultivated in the event cycle was via social and digital channels. Since taking over The American in 2022, The American Rodeo, Teton Ridge Performance Horses and Teton Ridge Social Accounts (including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube) have grown by 148% in followers.

The following stats encompass January 1-March 31, 2024 on The American Rodeo, Teton Ridge Performance Horses and Teton Ridge (Including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube):

Adding to the weekend of high-end sports action, The American Western weekend was hallmarked by an all-star lineup of musical talent to further the fan experience. 

At the 2024 event, global superstar Post Malone performed following The American Rodeo while five-time entertainer of the year Luke Bryan kept the energy flowing inside of Globe Life Field following The American Performance Horseman. In addition, throughout the weekend top artists including Aaron Watson, Ally Walker, VAVO and GhostHounds had fans on their feet amidst the sports action. 

However, the who’s who of star power did not end there, with the likes of actor Matthew McConaughey’s voice welcoming the fan-filled-arena, singer- songwriter Breland and Yellowstone actor and pride of the Lakota Sioux - Mo Brings Plenty adding immense talent to the opening ceremonies. 

In addition to top names in the entertainment industry on-stage throughout the weekend, some of Hollywood’s elite and mainstream sport’s all-stars were in attendance on the sidelines as well. Immense fans of performance horse sports and the richest single-day payout in rodeo included supermodel Bella Hadid, Ben Roethlisberger and more. 

For more information on The American Western Weekend, The American Contender Tournament, The American Performance Horseman and more, visit www.americanrodeo.com. Ticketing information, broadcast schedules and on-sale dates for The American Western Weekend 2025 will be announced later in 2024.

(Note: Contents of this article are courtesy Teton Ridge.)