Two bull using performances, Judd Mortensen, BullBiz’s personal Tonka Baj, ringside BUCKLE Boxes, reside nation music, ranch rodeo, barrel racing, and three days of Western motion are coming to the Northern Gila County Fair, October 1–3, 2026.
If you like the sound of the chute gate cracking open, the roar of a crowd, and the form of Western weekend that makes you wish to pull in your boots and hit the highway, Payson, Arizona must be in your calendar this October.
The 72nd Annual Northern Gila County Fair & BUCKLE Festival, October 1–3, 2026, is bringing three packed days of rodeo motion, reside nation music, livestock, Western competitors, and household leisure to Arizona’s Rim Country.
And on the heart of the motion is BUCKLE Fest Bull Riding.
Two Bull Riding Shows. One Big Western Weekend.
Bull using followers can have two possibilities to catch the motion on the Payson Event Center:
Friday, October 2 at 6 PM
Saturday, October 3 at 12:30 PM
This isn’t the form of occasion you watch quietly from the stands. Expect grime flying, bulls bucking, cowboys chasing eight seconds, and a crowd that’s going to be on its toes.
With Judd Mortensen serving to convey the bull using motion to Payson and Tonka Baj of BullBiz behind the microphone as announcer, BUCKLE Fest is setting the stage for a bull using expertise constructed for true rodeo followers.
Tonka brings the power, persona, and data of the game that may flip an amazing bull experience into an unforgettable present.
And when these chute gates swing open in Payson, you’ll wish to be there.
“There is nothing better than watching high-energy live bull riding in the pines. You don’t want to miss this event!”
Patrick O’Donnell
Founder & CEO
Cowboy Lifestyle Network
Want to Get Closer? Get a BUCKLE Box.
There are rodeo seats. And then there are BUCKLE Boxes.
BUCKLE Boxes put followers ringside, proper in opposition to the motion, giving teams probably the most thrilling methods to expertise bull using on the Northern Gila County Fair.
Feel the bottom shake. Hear the cowboys within the chutes. Watch the bulls explode into the sector simply toes away.
These premium ringside packing containers accommodate teams of 10 and are an unbelievable possibility for companies, purchasers, staff, associates, and households on the lookout for one thing far past the standard company outing.
For Arizona corporations on the lookout for a memorable company sponsorship and consumer leisure alternative, that is it. Trade the convention room for ringside seats.
But there’s a catch: BUCKLE Boxes are restricted and obtainable solely whereas they final.
Bull Riding Is Just the Beginning
Come to Payson for the bulls. Stay for a complete weekend celebrating the Western life-style.
The Northern Gila County Fair & BUCKLE Festival is constructing a weekend the place rodeo followers don’t have to decide on between nice competitors, nice music, and a standard county truthful.
It’s all right here.
The Western motion consists of Ranch Rodeo, the Colten Boyle Barrel Race, Mutton Bustin’, Goat Roping, Junior Livestock occasions, and the Junior Livestock Auction, together with agricultural displays and the traditions which have made county festivals a part of rural Arizona for generations.
Whether you’re cheering on a bull rider chasing eight seconds, watching a younger cowboy or cowgirl compete, or seeing ranch palms put their real-world expertise to work within the Ranch Rodeo, this weekend is about preserving Western traditions alive.
When the Rodeo Ends, the Music Starts
Don’t head dwelling when the grime settles.
BUCKLE Fest retains the get together going with a rustic music lineup all through the weekend that includes:
Kristen Merlin from NBC’s The Voice
Moonshine Mafia
Western Fusion
Rim Country Band
That means you may spend the day watching rodeo and livestock competitors, seize some truthful meals, catch a live performance, and are available again the subsequent day for an additional spherical of bull using.
This isn’t only a bull using ticket. It’s a Western weekend within the Arizona mountains.
Why Payson?
Part of what makes BUCKLE Fest completely different is the place it occurs.
Payson sits within the coronary heart of Arizona’s Rim Country, surrounded by pine nation and generations of ranching and rodeo custom. In October, the cooler mountain air makes it the right excuse for bull using followers from Phoenix, Prescott, Flagstaff, and throughout Arizona to show the Northern Gila County Fair right into a weekend highway journey.
Bring the household. Bring your rodeo crew. Bring your organization.
Just convey your boots.
Homegrown Traditions Since 1955
The Northern Gila County Fair celebrates its homegrown traditions relationship again to 1955, and BUCKLE Fest is taking that custom into its subsequent chapter.
BUCKLE stands for:
B – Bull Riding
U – Unity
C – Culture
Ok – Kids Rodeo
L – Live Entertainment
E – Experience
That final phrase might say it finest.
This isn’t about coming to Payson to observe one occasion and go away. It’s concerning the expertise.
It’s bull using underneath the Arizona sky. It’s youngsters getting their first style of rodeo. It’s livestock barns and barrel racers. It’s nation music after darkish. It’s companies entertaining purchasers ringside. It’s households making recollections and a group celebrating the Western lifestyle.
Get Your Tickets Before You Get to Payson
With two bull using performances, live shows, rodeo occasions, and three days of leisure packed into one weekend, presale tickets are the way in which to go.
And in order for you a kind of coveted ringside BUCKLE Boxes, don’t wait.
Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
Northern Gila County Fair & BUCKLE Festival
October 1–3, 2026
Payson Event Center | Payson, Arizona
BUCKLE Fest Bull Riding:
Friday, October 2 – 6 PM
Saturday, October 3 – 12:30 PM
Featuring: Judd Mortensen and BullBiz announcer Tonka Baj
PLUS: Ranch Rodeo • Colten Boyle Barrel Race • Mutton Bustin’ • Goat Roping • Junior Livestock • Live Country Music • Fair Exhibits • Family Entertainment
GET YOUR PRESALE TICKETS & BUCKLE BOXES NOW
If you’ve been ready for an excuse to get out of town, head for Arizona’s excessive nation and spend a weekend the place the bulls buck, the music performs, and the Western life-style continues to be alive and properly.
Payson is asking. We’ll see you ringside.
Last Updated on 09/13/2026 by Peter Varlet