Described by Greeley Stampede officials as the best crowd they’ve ever had for the American Bull Fighting competition, about 5,000 people showed up on July 2 to watch bull fighting and were also rewarded with a cowboy mounted shooting contest taking place in the same arena during breaks in the bull fighting action.

In the bull fighting contest, 10 participants showed up to compete in the Greeley Stampede arena against the smaller, quicker and more aggressive Mexican fighting bulls. The first round whittled it down to five competitors for a final round, where Eaton, Colo., bull fighter Roper Rich won back-to-back Greeley Stampede titles with his speed and fearless approach to piling up points. Those points are earned by staying close to the bull while not getting hit or trampled and extra points are awarded for effectively using bonus time in the arena and also employing trick maneuvers, like leaping a charging bull. Roper Rich did all those things numerous times on his way to winning the event with a final round score of 87.50. Second place went to Malaqi Cook with 84 and third was earned by Kye Hicks with 78.

The Colorado Regulators put on the mounted shooting competition and the event was well-received by the crowd. Participants sprint their horses through set patterns while firing blanks at balloon targets using .45 caliber single action pistols. The fastest time wins and missing a balloon target adds a 5-second penalty, along with penalties for veering off course or knocking over a barrel in the pattern. Accomplished mounted shooter De Chapman won the competition with a final round 9.4-second time over fellow Coloradan Rick Carlson’s 9.6-second effort.