ECTOR COUNTY, Texas — The SandHills Stock Show and Rodeo was established way back in the 1930's and is still going strong to this day.
It's one of Ector County's biggest events that draws hundreds, if not thousands, of people each day to watch the talented performers and the animals.
Originally, the event started off as just the stock show, but eventually expanded to the event it is currently thanks to the local populace.
“The stock show was actually where the rodeo originated," Rodeo Vice President Gary Don McCain said. "They were 15 years ahead of us and the ranchers around here started the stock show for the kids. They get scholarship money for raising their animals and possibly get going to college.”
Fast forward to the present, and both the stock show and rodeo have become a sacred tradition in Ector County.
What those people don't see, however, is the hundreds of hours put into getting the Ector County Colosseum set up to put the show on.
“Well we actually started the outside pens a little bit before Christmas and tried to get that knocked out," McCain said. "We’ve probably been in here, probably four days now, its non-stop once we get into the building, start putting the pens together and being in all the dirt in, so there's a lot of late hours.”
Every little detail needs to be taken into account, and yes, that even includes the very dirt the performers walk on.
“There was 72 belly dump loads on the dump truck and I think it came out to 1,500 yards of dirt inside the colosseum,” McCain said.
By the time all the dirt is put in, the Ector County Colosseum - which hosts various events and sports teams like the Odessa Jackalopes ice hockey team - is completely changed.
Of course, you can’t have a stock show and rodeo without animals.
Bulls, heifers, horses and all other types of animals are brought in to make sure the show can get off the ground.
“I will say we probably got 125 heads of animals on the grounds," McCain said. "Each event will have 10 in the roof stock, in the bare back riding, saddle bronco riding and the bull riding."
Once everything is set up, that is when the doors can open for the people to head on in.
So what can people expect to see when they take a seat?
“They'll see it all, from the bareback riding all the way to bull riding. We will have all the events." McCain said. "We've got some good names it'll be here tonight entered up and it'd be pretty much same thing for the next six performances.”
While those who buy a ticket and sit down to enjoy the show may get to kick back and relax, the stress and anxiety for the people who set everything up doesn’t go away until they hear the starting gun.
“Then they bucked that first horse you know you're like, 'okay, we made it, here we are. everything's together, everything's working,'" McCain said. "The committee, they put in a lot of hours, a lot of hard work, so to get that first one... there is a lot of relief that comes with it knowing that we've got this thing going.”
For more information on tickets, you can go to their website.