Bison Brook Rodeo Brings Bulls, Broncs and a $14,000 Purse to North Stonington

Bison Brook Rodeo Brings Bulls, Broncs and a $14,000 Purse to North Stonington Oct. 2 and 3, turning a field on Button Road into a two-night rough-stock arena with professional bull riding, ranch broncs, country music, food, drinks and vendors.

And this isn’t simply a Western-themed festival with a little riding thrown in.

The North Stonington competition is sanctioned by Elite Bullriders Association, with $5,000 added to the bull-riding purse each night and another $2,000 added for ranch bronc riding each night. Winners also leave with buckles.

That puts $14,000 in added money across the two nights and gives the riders considerably more incentive than applause from the grandstands.

The public side of the event runs Friday and Saturday, Oct. 2–3, at 42 Button Road in North Stonington, with food, drinks, vendors and music surrounding the rodeo itself.

This Is Rough-Stock Rodeo

There are no timed barrel races or team-roping competitions on the North Stonington card published by Elite Bullriders Association.

The focus is on two of rodeo’s rough-stock events: bull riding and ranch bronc riding.

Both share a simple underlying idea that becomes considerably less simple once the gate opens: stay aboard an animal that has absolutely no interest in letting you do so.

Bull riding puts the competitor on the back of a bucking bull, gripping a flat braided rope with one hand. A qualified ride lasts eight seconds, with the rider judged along with the animal. The harder and more athletic the bull bucks, spins and changes direction, the greater the potential score if the cowboy can stay aboard.

Ranch bronc riding has different roots.

It grew from the practical riding skills of working cowboys and ranch hands and developed into a competitive event distinct from the more stylized saddle bronc riding familiar from traditional rodeo.

At Bison Brook, the two disciplines divide the purse accordingly.

The Elite Bullriders Association lists $5,000 in added money for sanctioned bull riding each night, with a buckle going to each night’s winner.

Ranch bronc competitors have $2,000 added each night, again with a winner’s buckle on the line.

For competitors, entry fees are listed at $100 plus a permit for nonmembers in bull riding and $75 plus a permit for nonmembers in ranch broncs.

For everybody else, the assignment is easier: stay on your side of the fence.

The Rodeo Starts at 7, but the Evening Starts Earlier

The sanctioned competition is scheduled from 7 to 11 p.m. both Friday and Saturday, according to Elite Bullriders Association.

But the larger Bison Brook event begins before the first chute opens.

The organizers describe the weekend as two nights of rodeo action surrounded by food, drinks, vendors and music. Other regional listings place the public event beginning around 4 p.m., making this more of an evening at the farm than a show where everyone arrives five minutes before the first bull comes out.

Friday has an especially local connection.

Nick Bosse & The Northern Roots perform at 5 p.m. Friday, giving the rodeo a North Stonington country soundtrack before the competition begins.

Nick Bosse Is Playing in His Hometown

Bosse isn’t being imported from Nashville to provide generic country music before a Connecticut rodeo.

He’s from North Stonington.

The singer-songwriter and his Northern Roots band have built their sound around older-school and outlaw country, drawing on the tradition of artists including Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash while writing contemporary songs about working people, rural life and the direction of modern country music.

Bosse began playing local bar gigs in 2013 before forming The Northern Roots. Since then, he has recorded in Nashville, headlined shows at both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun and won a New England Music Award for Best Vocalist.

His song “What Happened to Country” has accumulated more than 2 million streams, according to his official biography.

There aren’t many venues where that material fits more naturally than a rodeo a few miles from home.

Bosse’s own tour schedule confirms the band at Bison Brook Rodeo at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2.

He is not listed for Saturday; his schedule puts him in Vermont that evening.

You Can Build a Cowboy Hat While You’re There

At least one of the vendors is leaning completely into the occasion.

The Hat Social, a sister-owned custom hat business, has announced that it will be at Bison Brook both nights with its mobile hat bar.

Visitors choose a felt or straw hat and then customize it with combinations of bands, ribbons, feathers, pins and other details. Branding can add letters, dates, initials or symbols directly to the finished hat.

Appointments are recommended, although the company says walk-ups will be accepted when availability allows.

It’s the sort of vendor that makes considerably more sense beside a rodeo arena than it would at the average Saturday craft fair.

The Bulls and Broncs Are Part of a Larger Circuit

The Elite Bullriders Association schedule provides another useful piece of context.

North Stonington isn’t an isolated demonstration. The Bison Brook competition sits on an active October schedule of sanctioned bull and bronc events stretching through the Southeast.

The association has other competitions scheduled the same weekend in Florida, followed by rodeos in Georgia and additional Florida dates later in October.

That matters because “sanctioned” has a specific implication here: riders aren’t simply being recruited locally for an exhibition. Bison Brook is appearing on the same competition calendar as the association’s other bull-riding and ranch-bronc events.

The prize structure reinforces that.

A rider who wins on Friday doesn’t simply receive bragging rights. There’s money and a championship-style buckle attached to the result, and Saturday starts the contest again with another purse and another buckle.

Two Nights, Two Separate Competitions

Anyone considering which night to attend should understand that Friday isn’t a preliminary round leading to a Saturday final.

Elite Bullriders Association lists added prize money and a winner’s buckle each night.

That gives each performance its own stakes.

Friday has the additional attraction of the 5 p.m. Nick Bosse & The Northern Roots performance. Saturday offers the same sanctioned bull-and-bronc format without Bosse, who is booked elsewhere that evening.

The Eventbrite listing describes the event as all ages, making this one of the relatively unusual opportunities in southeastern Connecticut to take kids to an actual rough-stock rodeo rather than a Western-themed attraction.

They should also understand what they’re going to see.

Bull riding and bronc riding are loud, fast and inherently physical sports involving large animals and riders being thrown to the ground. For some children, that’s precisely what makes a rodeo exciting. Others may find the noise and intensity overwhelming.

North Stonington Goes a Little Bit West

There’s something slightly improbable about finding sanctioned bull riding in the woods and farm country between Mystic and the Rhode Island line.

But North Stonington may be one of the Connecticut towns where it makes the most sense.

This is still a rural part of southeastern Connecticut, a landscape of working farms, stone walls, fields and winding back roads sitting only minutes from the casinos and the busy shoreline.

For two evenings, Button Road gets something considerably louder.

There will be country music before the gates open, vendors and food around the grounds, riders competing for money and buckles, ranch broncs coming out of the chutes and bulls trying to end an eight-second ride considerably earlier than the cowboy would prefer.

More information is available at the Event Website link below.

To purchase tickets, click the Event Ticketing link below.

Details

Event: Bison Brook Rodeo
Dates: Friday, Oct. 2 and Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026
Location: The Overpass Arena
Address: 42 Button Road, North Stonington, CT 06359
Public Event: Regional listings indicate activities begin around 4 p.m.
Sanctioned Rodeo: 7–11 p.m. each night
Rodeo Sanction: Elite Bullriders Association
Competition: Bull riding and ranch bronc riding
Bull Riding Purse: $5,000 added each night; buckle to each night’s winner
Ranch Bronc Purse: $2,000 added each night; buckle to each night’s winner
Total Added Money: $14,000 across both nights
Friday Live Music: Nick Bosse & The Northern Roots at 5 p.m.
Saturday: Nick Bosse is not scheduled to perform Saturday
Other Attractions: Food, drinks, vendors and music
Custom Hat Bar: The Hat Social is scheduled for both nights; appointments recommended, with walk-ups subject to availability
Ages: All ages
Tickets: Multiple ticket levels are offered through Eventbrite, including VIP options; check the ticketing page for current prices and availability
Refunds: No refunds
Weather: Check the organizer’s Eventbrite page for its current weather policy before attending
Parking: Check the Eventbrite FAQ for current parking information
Alcohol: The event FAQ includes alcohol information; attendees should check the current ticketing page for service rules and restrictions
Gate Sales: Check Eventbrite for current ticket availability and whether tickets remain available at the gate

 

 

Featured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people, location, or activities shown.