Crystal Springs Rodeo: A dream worth keeping alive

By Gabby Fink for Tri-State Neighbor
Jul 10, 2025
Jul 10, 2025

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Chutes bang, timers sound, and crowds cheer as a rodeo commences in what’s billed as America’s most natural rodeo bowl, nestled in the rolling Prairie Coteau seven miles northeast of Clear Lake, South Dakota.

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Saturday night’s rodeo was postponed due to tornadoes and flooding..
Photo courtesy the Posh Cowgirl

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Crystal Springs Rodeo (7).jpg — A bareback rider holds on and starts to spur as the bronc leaps through the air.
Photo courtesy Picture by Rodeo Ready, Clay Guardipee

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Gabby Fink is an SDSU graduate with a degree in agricultural communications. She is an award winning journalist for the Volga Tribune and in 2022 served as a Tri-State Neighbor Youth Crop Watcher, sharing updates from her family’s farm in Plankinton, South Dakota.