Lost Dutchman Days Rodeo Feb. 27-March 1 in Apache Junction

By Richard Dyer
Mail | X: @RHDyer

The 62nd annual Lost Dutchman Days Rodeo — a rain-or-shine event — will be held Feb. 27-March 1 with all proceeds donated to local children’s organizations.

It is presented by the Lost Dutchman Days Committee, a partnership of the Apache Junction Mounted Rangers and Superstition Mountain Promotional Corp.

New for 2026, a massage therapist will be available for free for rodeo contestants and rodeo volunteers Thursday through Sunday near the announcer booth.

“So I’m going to be there to do sports massage for the contestants and the staff of the rodeo. It’s through the entire rodeo — the whole rodeo day,” said RaNae Cowley, a licensed massage therapist. “If we can stretch and kind of work out some of the kinks before they ride, the aftereffects of their ride aren’t as bad.”

The city of Apache Junction in the past year completed upgrades to the vendor side of the rodeo grounds, 1590 E. Lost Dutchman Blvd., said Lost Dutchman Days Committee Chair Sherry Coker.

“The concrete pads where the tents used to be; in the future they are going to have a big ramada there. They added sidewalks to all the vendors. And landscaping in the wash — it looks really nice out there,” she said. “They added concrete pad parking for all the handicapped parking against the fence.”

“They made the vendor area more handicapped accessible,” said Denny Walters, SMPC member and former Lost Dutchman Days Committee chair.

Just like the past two years, a set number of tickets will be sold for each day’s rodeo performance, and patrons will not be able to transfer days, Coker said.

“So there’s 3,000 tickets a day. And they are labeled ‘Friday,’ ‘Saturday,’ ‘Sunday.’ Buy what day they want,” she said. “There will be tickets for sale at the front gate starting at 10 a.m. every day. We did it last year to see how it worked and it worked real well, so ahead of time they can come and buy tickets there.”

Since 1994, more than $1.6 million has been donated to children’s charities from funds raised through the rodeo. Funds go to charities that do good works in the community.

Rodeo royalty chosen

Lost Dutchman Days rodeo royalty were chosen Jan. 10 after horsemanship tests at the rodeo grounds before judges Wendy Hughes, Monti Mongold, Riley King and Michael Pooley. Contestant speeches were held at the Apache Junction Multi-generational Center.

The 2026 Lost Dutchman Days rodeo royalty are Emalise Zuber, queen; Darian Phillips, senior teen queen; Payton Spahn, junior teen queen; Remi Houston and Chloe Houston, both as little miss LDD.

The horsemanship portion at the rodeo grounds went well, Queen Coordinator Ashley Anderson said.

“It went really good. The girls did great. It was definitely windy and cold out there, but they were troopers. Yeah, I’m super proud of all of them,” she said. “The wind definitely makes it harder for rodeos. It makes it really hard to hold flags and stuff for the horses. And the horses usually get a little bit friskier on colder and windy days. Yeah, but all the girls and horses did really good this morning. I was really happy about it.”

The little miss LDD contestants did not participate in the horsemanship portion.

“The little miss title is nonriding. We just want to kind of get girls started in rodeo queening or kind of just in the Western industry from a younger age to kind of keep the rodeo queening alive. So we let them do parades and they’ll ride in the barrel truck at the rodeo. They are right there with the big girls — just not on the horses to keep it safe,” Anderson said.

Rodeo queen fundraiser

Lost Dutchman Days Queen Jaelee Mernaugh, chosen in 2025, is hosting a three-event gymkhana fundraiser starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, at the Apache Junction Rodeo Grounds.

The fundraiser at 1590 E. Lost Dutchman Blvd. will benefit Rachel’s Rescue in honor of Rachel Hansen, who was murdered June 4, 2022. The rescue is dedicated to rescuing dogs and puppies in her honor. Learn more about the rescue at https://rachelsrescue2022.com.

Signups start at 8 a.m. Feb. 7 for the queen fundraising gymkhana. Cost is $25 for entry plus lunch. Lunch costs $10 if separate. A 50/50 raffle is planned. Monetary donations are welcome.

For information, call Ashley Anderson at 480-238-6856 or Jaelee Mernaugh at 605-460-4040.

2026 rodeo

The full eight-event rodeo, sanctioned by the Grand Canyon Professional Rodeo Association, has cowboys and cowgirls competing for prize money beginning at 1:30 p.m. each day at the Apache Junction Rodeo Grounds, 1590 E. Lost Dutchman Blvd., at Tomahawk Road.

The rodeo features hundreds of contestants, all of whom put up an entry fee to win the coveted Lost Dutchman Days Rodeo prize money and belt buckles.

The classic events include bareback, calf roping, saddlebronc, steer wrestling, ladies breakaway roping, barrel racing, team roping and the crowd favorite of bull riding.

Theme days are: “Tough Enough to Wear Pink” on Friday, “We Are AJ Day” on Saturday, and military and first-responders day on Sunday. A kids grocery race is planned Saturday and Sunday during the rodeo.

Adult tickets are $20 for the rodeo and $15 for ages 10 and under at the gate, with a $2 discount on both for advance purchases. Advance rodeo and carnival ticket sales are only available at the Apache Junction Area Chamber of Commerce, 567 W. Apache Trail in Apache Junction; 480-982-3141. Carnival tickets cost $35 for an all-day ride pass if bought early at the chamber (quantity limited) or $45 at the event.

Mutton bustin’

The mutton bustin’ competition for ages 4-7 who are under 60 pounds in weight will be Saturday, Feb. 28, immediately following the rodeo. They must have rodeo tickets for Saturday’s performance to participate. Register at 1 p.m. until full or at the end of barrel racing on Feb. 28 at the rodeo west of the grandstands under the pop-up tent. Cost is $30 per rider, cash only, with a limit of 45 riders.

A carnival, the rodeo, vendor booths, free entertainment, food and more will be Feb. 27-March 1 at the main Event Center at the Apache Junction Rodeo Grounds, 1590 E. Lost Dutchman Blvd. Event Center admission is $2; and parking is free.

Free entertainment at the Carnival Stage at the rodeo grounds stage will be offered Feb. 27-March 1:

• Friday, Feb. 27: 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Local Bread; 3-6 p.m., Livin’ on Mars.
• Saturday, Feb. 28: 10 a.m.-noon, The Massengales; 12:30-3:30 p.m., Way Out West Band; 4-7 p.m., Mary Jane’s Rocket.
• Sunday, March 1: 10-11 a.m., Cowboy Church with Steve Edwards and the Broken Chair Band; 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Roadhouse Ranglers; 2-5 p.m., Outside the Line.

For a full list of events, go to https://www.lostdutchmandays.org.

Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on X @rhdyer. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines, https://www.yourvalley.net/civility-checklist/.

Richard Dyer
Managing Editor | East Valley

rdyer@iniusa.org

Meet Richard
Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.  

Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions. 

Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.

Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.

Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.