HASTINGS, Neb. – Since the Oregon Trail Rodeo in Hastings came into existence 32 years ago, Willis Hunt has been involved with it.

Hunt was one of nine men on the original committee who began the PRCA rodeo in 1992.

That year, the Adams County Ag Society voted was 4-4 to form a new rodeo, with president Darrel Stromer breaking the tie in favor of the rodeo.

Four board members “were not excited about the rodeo,” Hunt remembered. But the five who voted for it got to work, securing sponsors, advertising, and hiring contract people.

The Webster Co. rodeo committee was a big help in the Hastings rodeo’s infancy, providing advice and labor for putting on a rodeo.

One of the Oregon Trail Rodeo’s first hires was Jim Korkow, Ft. Pierre, S.D. Korkow, a stock contractor, brought his bucking horses and bulls to Hastings for the rodeo, and continues to, to this day.

He also brought a semi-load of steel. At the time, the Adams Co. Fairgrounds didn’t have a permanent rodeo arena. So each year the rodeo committee built the temporary arena and pens, putting up steel fences, gates, and the chutes.

It was a lot of work, Hunt remembers, but something he believed strongly in.

He also served as coordinator for the annual Kids Day, a half-day when area schools were invited to come to the fairgrounds and learn more about the rodeo.

Learning about rodeo was ideal for fourth graders, whose curriculum is Nebraska studies. Students learned from the rodeo veterinarian, bullfighters, the clown, pickup men, rodeo queens and others as they moved from station to station in the arena.

Kids Day brought in about 500 fourth grade students each year, Hunt said. The timing was perfect; the rodeo used to be on Labor Day weekend, with the Kids’ Day on the Friday before the holiday began.

Hunt organized the presentations, scheduling the speakers and making sure fourth grade students at each school got free rodeo tickets. Kids’ Day began in the 1990s and ended in 2018, when the rodeo dates moved to mid-August.

Even as a kid, Hunt wanted to be a cowboy. He remembers wearing little toy guns as he grew up on a farm near Edison, Neb., as his dad’s “chore boy.” The farm had row crops and cattle. Hunt disliked farming but loved working with cattle.

In 1956, at age 18, he went into the Army, then the Army Ready Reserve, and was honorably discharged in 1962.

He played football on scholarship at Norfolk Junior College for a year, then attended Kearney State College. After college graduation, he worked for the Nebraska Highway Department as an engineer, then from 1970-1977, served as the city engineer for the city of Hastings.

He married his wife Betty in 1961; the couple have three children: son Steve and daughters Kelli and Kristi.

Even at 86 years of age, Hunt attends the rodeo, helping wherever he is needed. Throughout his 32 years with the rodeo, he’s helped with taking tickets and sponsorships. His businesses, Hunt Farms and Westland Construction, have sponsored the rodeo since it began.

He admires the athletic ability of the cowboys and cowgirls, and “the pure courage,” he said. The bareback, saddle bronc riding and bull riding “are of course dangerous,” he said, “but with a horse running full speed and you get off and twist the steer to the ground (as in the steer wrestling), are you out of your mind?” he said.

He also enjoys the teamwork that takes place between horse and rider.

A veteran, he appreciates the rodeo opening with prayer and the national anthem.

But Hunt really likes what it means to the kids. “Rodeo is probably the best entertainment for children,” he said. “It’s an exciting event, and fun.”

Of the nine men who were on the rodeo committee in 1992, only two are living: Hunt and Wes Keebler. The other seven men who have since passed are Rich Asmus, Jack Friend, Stan McMahon, Luwane Nelson, Don Snoberger, Darrel Stromer, and Ken Tilley.

The Oregon Trail Rodeo takes place August 16-18 at the Adams County Fairgrounds in Hastings. Nightly shows are at 7 p.m. Aug. 16-17 and at 6 p.m. on Aug. 18.

General admission tickets are $10 for children ages 6-12 and $15 for adults. Reserved seating is $20, and stadium seating is $25.

Tickets can be purchased online at AdamsCountyFairgrounds.com, at the Adams County Fair office, and at the gate.

For more information, visit the website or call 402-462-3247.