Enjoy the Rodeo and Country Fun in Flint & Genesee

If you have a love for all things rodeo, then Flint & Genesee is the place to be this summer. With two rodeos coming to the Genesee County area, you’ll have plenty to keep you busy.  You can even take the experience beyond the rodeo with opportunities to learn to ride horses, learn about farming, and to have farm animals make an appearance at your next party or event.

The Midwest Invitational Rodeo will be in town Friday, June 7 to Saturday, June 8 at the Everett A. Cumming Center in Genesee, bringing two full days of family fun to the area while preserving the storied history of Black cowboys. The Midwest Invitational Rodeo will showcase the nation’s top Black cowboys and cowgirls and the show will feature steer wrestling, relay races, bull riding, ranch bronc riding, ladies barrel racing, ladies steer undecorating, and tie-down roping. Along with all the action in the ring, there will be a fashion show, vendors, and much more. The event will also serve as part of an anniversary jamboree that the Buffalo Soldiers motorcycle club will be holding that weekend. Tickets are $20 in advance for the rodeo or $25 the day of the show and parking is $10.

In July, look for the 21^st Annual Gaines Community Rodeo, presented by the Knights of Columbus. The event will be held July 19-20 at Pine Hill Park in Gaines. During the rodeo, there will be pony rides, a petting zoo, craft vendors, and plenty of fun in the entertainment tent for the adults where bands will be playing both nights. Among the rodeo fun, you can expect barrel racing and bull riding, plus plenty more to look forward to as well for families that attend.

For those who want to try horse riding for themselves, you’ve got many resources in Flint & Genesee. AT Show Horses of Grand Blanc offers services from breeding to sales, as well as training, lessons, or boarding, and they will help with the basics of showing your horse. Executive Farms, also in Grand Blanc, offers lessons, boarding, and horse training, and you can even book them for a party. Lessons come in many varieties from private to group lessons, depending on what your comfort level is.

In Fenton, you’ll find Windwalker Farms offering lessons and adventure camps for children ages 5-17 with different camps for each age group. They even host private parties and events so you can bring horses and a petting farm to you. They also offer pop-up classes, farm school summer camps, and farm school for children who are homeschooled.

Finally, Flushing’s Sleepy Hollow Stables offers farming classes, riding lessons, indoor or outdoor arena drop-ins, and horse boarding. In the fall Sleepy Hollow Stables often presents a musical attraction that pairs scares and laughs for Halloween.

With two amazing rodeos and a summer’s worth of fun on the way, nurture your love for country life this summer in Flint & Genesee.