It’s time to "cowboy up."

It’s time to put on those Wrangler jeans, button that Levi’s shirt, pull up those Tony Lama boots and pop on that Stetson hat.

It’s professional-rodeo time in Cortez.

Many events are planned for the 71st annual Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo, which begins today and runs through Saturday night. Grand entry is set for 8 p.m. each day at American Legion Post 75 Arena, located at the north end of Harrison Street in Cortez.

Two rodeo parades are on tap as always. They will be held Friday and Saturday, starting at 5 p.m. at Main and Maple, then heading east to Harrison and north to the rodeo grounds. The theme this year is "Working Together — The Western Way." Entry forms are available at the American Legion, Valley Barber Shop, and Nu-Way Western Wear. This year’s grand marshal is Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Chairman Ernest House.

An always-fun event is the Children’s Sidewalk Treat Parade through downtown with the starting place at the Cortez Cultural Center’s dance plaza at 10 a.m. today. It will be followed by a Western-wear contest. As a special treat, the rodeo clown and bullfighter will be marching.

A dance at the American Legion Home from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday will culminate performances. Admission is $5 per person. Music will be provided by Desert Thunder.

Honeycutt and Sons Rodeo Co. of Alamosa and Waddell, Ariz., will once again be the stock contractor for this year’s pro rodeo.

The rodeo is one of the few Professional Cowboy Rodeo Association events in the Four Corners area other than the weekly PRCA series in Durango.

Honeycutt prides itself on creating quality family entertainment by combining award-winning bucking stock, top contract personnel, and dynamic music.

The rodeo company had several stock animals at last year’s National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Nev., including horses Copenhagen Ragged Edge and Skoal’s Dawson Creek, and a bull, Copenhagen Lookout.

The Frazier Shows of America will once again produce the carnival, which will run for all three days of the rodeo.

Announcing on horseback will once again be Johnny Pope of Semmes, Ala. He has worked with Honeycutt and Sons for many years and has been the announcer at the Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo many times.

There will be a new clown at this year’s rodeo, Scott "Funky Kol" Messina of Huntsville, Texas. Owner and chief instructor of the Huntsville School of Karate, Messina is a fourth-degree black belt with 17 years of martial-arts experience.

Matt Lucking, who has performed here many times, is the bullfighter. Lucking, of Glendale, Ariz., has been a member of the PRCA since 1993. He was the bullfighting champion at the National Finals Rodeo Bucking Stock Sale in 1992. He also participates in roping events.

The annual Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo has not raised ticket prices in several years. Reserve tickets are $7 (for Friday and Saturday’s performances only) and are on sale at Nu-Way Western Wear in downtown Cortez. General-admission seats are still $5 for adults and $3 for children under age 12. Tickets also can be purchased at the gate beginning at 7 p.m. each day.

Cowboys will compete in the regular PRCA events of bareback bronc, saddle bronc, bull-riding, calf-roping, team roping, and steer-wrestling. All those who want to enter the rodeo need to be card-carrying members of the PRCA and must register through the PRCA office. The only event for women is barrel-racing, which is sanctioned by the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association.

Several special events are planned during the rodeo. Something new this year is Mutton Busting for the youngsters. General Chairman Carl Armstrong said that either shortly before the start or perhaps during the rodeo, six kids will get an opportunity to ride. The first six who sign up (at gate No. 3 on the west side) will get a chance to earn a belt buckle and/or other prizes. The Revengers of Montezuma, a precision shooting group, will perform Friday and Saturday nights. The Colorado Hoofbeats, a women’s horse-riding unit, will be prancing their horses on the arena floor each night.

The Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo Royalty for 2001 was chosen recently at the annual pageant. The winners were Junior Queen Attendant Chelsi Hall, Queen Michelle Hill, Princess Jessica Norris, Queen Attendant Mary Hoch, and Junior Queen Kailee Caughey.

In recent years, Cortez pro-rodeo fans have been lucky enough to have seen such stars as 2000 All-Around Cowboy Joe Beaver, who stopped off here last summer and then went on to win the title last December at the PRCA World Finals in Las Vegas. Fred Whitfield, who has won the all-around title as well as winning the 2000 calf-roping crown, was here in 1999 and 1998. 1999 world bareback champ Lan LaJeunesse was here in 1999, when nobody knew who he was, except Cortez fans who watched him win that event. Former world champ Ote Berry has won in steer-wrestling here. Billy Etebauer, 1999-2000 world-champion saddle bronc rider has performed here several times. Multiple world-champion barrel-racer Kristi Peterson has run the Texas Clover Leaf pattern in this arena.