KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Long before Osceola County became one of the fastest-growing and most culturally diverse communities in Florida, local ranching families were gathering on horseback, sharing their love of the land and building a tradition that would eventually become known far beyond the county line.
Today, 85 years after the Silver Spurs Club was formed, that tradition is not fading into history. It is filling an 8,300-seat arena with longtime supporters, first-time rodeo fans, young families and new residents eager to experience an authentic piece of Osceola County.
The Silver Spurs Rodeo, recognized as the largest professional rodeo east of the Mississippi River and annually ranked among the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s top events, remains one of the county’s most recognizable traditions. But the organization behind it has become something even greater: a multigenerational, volunteer-powered community institution that continues to evolve while remaining firmly rooted in Osceola’s ranching and agricultural heritage.
The story began in 1941, when a group of Osceola County ranchers traveled to Tallahassee on horseback to participate in the inaugural parade for newly elected Florida Gov. Spessard Holland. The attention generated by that appearance inspired the riders to continue gathering and formally establish the Silver Spurs Club.
By the end of its first year, the club had already staged an informal rodeo, performed its horseback square dance known as the Quadrille and appeared at prominent events across Florida and Georgia.
Service was part of the club’s identity from the beginning. In 1942, its members performed to benefit organizations including the American Red Cross and Army-Navy relief efforts. In 1943, they built their first arena on land donated by Henry O. Partin near what is now Neptune Road and Kings Highway.
In March 1944, approximately 1,000 spectators attended a rodeo in the Partin pasture for which the price of admission was the purchase of a war bond supporting the Fourth War Loan. Its success led to the club’s first full-dress rodeo on July 4, 1944.
That combination of horsemanship, entertainment and service established a mission that has continued for more than eight decades.
The club acquired 15 acres along U.S. Highway 192 in 1949 and held its first rodeo there on July 4, 1950. Its first midwinter rodeo followed in February 1951. When the historic outdoor arena was eventually replaced, the organization moved confidently into a new era with the opening of today’s climate-controlled Silver Spurs Arena at Osceola Heritage Park in 2003.
The arena may be modern, but the work behind the rodeo is still carried out largely by Silver Spurs Club members, their families and volunteers. The club now includes more than 300 members, many representing families whose involvement stretches across several generations.
At the same time, a new generation of fans is discovering the Silver Spurs experience.
Osceola County’s population has changed dramatically. The county grew by approximately 45 percent between 2010 and 2020 and by another 23.9 percent between April 2020 and July 2025. More than half of its residents identify as Hispanic or Latino. Those changes can increasingly be seen in the arena, where the crowd reflects both the longtime ranching families who helped build Osceola and the many newer residents now calling it home.
Rather than diminishing the tradition, that growing and changing audience has energized it.
Children attending their first rodeo sit beside fans who have been coming for decades. New residents cheer alongside descendants of Florida cattle families. English and Spanish can be heard throughout the concourse, but the excitement requires no translation when a barrel racer charges toward home or a bull rider bursts from the chute in pursuit of an eight-second score.
The rodeo has become a place where Osceola’s past and present meet—and where its western heritage is shared rather than simply remembered.
Part of the Silver Spurs Club’s distinction comes from the four-legged athletes competing alongside the cowboys and cowgirls. The club is one of only a small number of PRCA rodeos that also operates as its own stock contractor.
More than 100 bulls and broncs live at the Silver Spurs Ranch in Kenansville, where volunteers care for the animals throughout the year. Many of the bulls appearing inside the arena were bred and raised locally, continuing a program that began when Doug Partin and Shang Bronson started raising bulls for the rodeo during the 1960s.
The livestock receive daily attention, specialized nutrition, vaccinations and veterinary care while spending most of the year grazing on ranchland. When their competitive careers end, retired animals return to the ranch, with some becoming part of the club’s breeding program.
The Silver Spurs animals are athletes in their own right. In rough stock events—including bull riding, saddle bronc riding and bareback riding—the livestock are scored for their athletic performance along with the contestants. Silver Spurs bull Hang ’Em High even earned repeated trips to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
But some of the Silver Spurs Club’s most meaningful moments happen after the competition pauses.
During each rodeo performance, the lights turn toward the arena floor as the club’s Big Boss presents a donation to a nonprofit making a difference in the community. The checks are not a ceremonial afterthought. They represent a mission that has been part of the organization since its earliest days.
Recent beneficiaries have included the McCormick Research Institute, which provides equine-assisted therapy for veterans and individuals with special needs; Help Now of Osceola, which supports survivors of domestic violence; the Osceola Council on Aging, home of the county’s Meals on Wheels program; and the School District of Osceola County’s SMART Bus, which helps bring educational opportunities directly into local communities.
Individual contributions have reached as much as $10,000. In 2025 alone, the Silver Spurs Club provided more than $100,000 in cash donations and in-kind support to organizations throughout the greater Osceola area. Overall, the club reports supporting more than 50 nonprofits and contributing approximately $467,000 to the community.
Its investment in the next generation also includes purchasing youth market animals at the Kissimmee Valley Livestock Show, supporting local FFA programs and awarding scholarships through the Education Foundation of Osceola County. Over the last decade, the club has presented $51,000 in scholarships to students pursuing agriculture-related careers.
Perhaps no program reveals the organization’s heart more clearly than the Silver Spurs Special Rodeo.
Inspired by Silver Spurs Club member Fran McLaughlin after she attended an Exceptional Rodeo at the 1987 National Finals Rodeo, the free event was created so children with special needs could experience western traditions in an encouraging and inclusive environment.
For more than 30 years, participants have been paired with club volunteers, rodeo contestants and rodeo queens as they ride horses, rope steer dummies and sit atop the famous Big Blue Boot. Every participant finishes the day surrounded by cheers and receives a trophy celebrating courage, effort and spirit.
It is a powerful reminder that the Silver Spurs Club’s legacy is measured by more than attendance, championship scores or the number of years it has been in operation. Its legacy can also be seen in a child sitting on a horse for the first time, a veteran finding healing through equine therapy, a senior receiving a warm meal or a student moving one step closer to an agricultural career.
And the Silver Spurs Club is showing no signs of slowing down.
Every February, June and October, the arena comes alive again. The chutes open, hooves pound the dirt, generations of volunteers go to work and thousands of people gather beneath one roof to celebrate a tradition that still belongs to Osceola County—even as the county continues to grow and change around it.
The next chapter will be written Saturday, Oct. 3, when Boots, Bulls and Barrels returns to Silver Spurs Arena at Osceola Heritage Park.
Beginning at 7:30 p.m., the family-friendly event will feature three of rodeo’s most exciting competitions: bull riding, saddle bronc riding and barrel racing. Cowboys, cowgirls and the Silver Spurs Club’s locally raised animal athletes will compete for prize money and arena bragging rights during one of the organization’s signature fall events.
Boots, Bulls and Barrels is more than another night of rodeo action. It is an invitation for longtime fans and newcomers alike to become part of a living Osceola County tradition—one that honors the past, welcomes the future and continues giving back to the community it has proudly served since 1941.
Silver Spurs Arena is located at 1875 Silver Spur Lane in Kissimmee. Tickets and additional information for Boots, Bulls and Barrels are available at SilverSpursRodeo.com.
