WAGONS HO IN OREGON

What began as a publicity stunt to promote the world-famous Pendleton Round-Up Rodeo and Happy Canyon evening show has taken on a life of its own. Riders from around the United States, Canada, England, Australia, and even Thailand, now participate in the Pendleton Wagon Train, which consists of 19 wagons drawn by mules or horses and 100 outriders accompanying them.

History of the Wagon Train

The moving wagon train functions as a temporary doorway into the past, where lessons in courage, patience, and self-reliance are taught on hard, jostling wagon seats and slow-moving horses. We experienced a sense of awe for the pioneers who ventured west—imagine, crossing rivers, deserts, and mountains with covered wagons pulled by horses, mules, or oxen.

According to Vickie Leonard, President of the Pendleton Wagon Train Committee, teamsters wanted to keep skills associated with a wagon train alive by having a week-long wagon-train journey once