DUANE
Duane's take
Here's the story as the official marker tells it — and Dublin, Texas made sure it's worth tellin'. In 1936, a man named Everett Colborn — already working as an arena director for the Madison Square Garden Rodeo, mind you, so he knew a thing or two about putting on a show — purchased interest in a rodeo company and settled himself in Erath County on the Lightning C Ranch. Now when a man with that kind of résumé plants roots in your county, you pay attention.
Four years later, in 1940, Dublin hosted its first World's Championship Rodeo, right there at City Park. And this wasn't some outside outfit rolling into town. No, this was a community effort — local organizations selling tickets, parking cars, and building floats for the parade.
The whole town showed up to make it happen. Then came 1946, and Dublin did something that turned heads clear across the region. They built the Colborn Bowl — the largest outdoor arena in the Southwest.
The largest. In the Southwest. Let that settle for a moment.
That arena didn't just draw Texas crowds. It drew international attention. It drew thousands of visitors.
It drew celebrities — Gene Autry rode in, Roy Rogers too. And somewhere in all that dust and applause and pageantry, the Dublin Rodeo was doing something bigger than anyone might've guessed standing in that City Park in 1940. The marker says it plain: the Dublin Rodeo helped lay the foundation for the modern sport of rodeo.
Started on a ranch in Erath County. Ended up shaping a piece of America.
What the marker says
DUBLIN RODEO IN 1936, EVERETT COLBORN, AN ARENA DIRECTOR FOR THE MADISON SQUARE GARDEN RODEO, PURCHASED INTEREST IN A RODEO COMPANY AND SETTLED IN ERATH COUNTY ON THE LIGHTNING C RANCH. THE FIRST "WORLD'S CHAMPIONSHIP RODEO" IN DUBLIN WAS HELD AT CITY PARK IN 1940. THE RODEO WAS A COMMUNITY EFFORT WITH LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS ACCEPTING TICKETS, PARKING CARS AND PREPARING FLOATS FOR THE PARADE. THE COLBORN BOWL WAS BUILT IN 1946 AND WAS THE LARGEST OUTDOOR ARENA IN THE SOUTHWEST. ALONG WITH INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION, THE RODEO BROUGHT IN THOUSANDS OF VISITORS AND FEATURED CELEBRITIES INCLUDING GENE AUTRY AND ROY ROGERS. THE DUBLIN RODEO HELPED LAY THE FOUNDATION FOR THE MODERN SPORT OF RODEO.