Rodeo takes Jesse Hill all over the United States, but there’s no doubt he loves this time of year when it keeps him close to home.

Hill puts on rodeos from the West Coast to the East Coast year-round, but in the heart of summer, Wyoming and Colorado are where most of the action is.

The Kiowa resident, who co-owns H&H Rodeo Company with Centennial’s JD Hamaker, was busy last week setting up a portable arena at Barrons Boulevard and Monument Drive. The site sits just north of Town Center in Highlands Ranch, where the Seventh Annual Rodeo in the Ranch expects to be a hot ticket July 14 and 15.

“It’s kind of cool because this used to be a huge rodeo community and we used to have the Little Britches finals here during Western Welcome Week, so we were excited when they brought this back and brought rodeo back into the city,” Hill said. “There aren’t many places people can go and stay in the city and go to a rodeo.”

Hill has seen the Highlands Ranch rodeo grow each year over the past six years, although it has yet to turn a profit for the Highlands Ranch Community Association, despite pulling in 800-1,000 spectators.

A motion to eliminate the annual event, which costs $27,700 to put on, was narrowly defeated on a hand vote by delegates this past October, allowing it to continue.

“Over the last three years we’ve really tried to up the quality of our cowboys and our stock and I think we’ve done both,” Hill said, adding that H&H has brought in a few National Finals Rodeo contestants such as bareback rider Cimarron Gerke and bull rider Jason McClain, who both competed in the Ranch last summer.

“We don’t know quite yet who is going to enter this year, because our entries aren’t closed and this is the busiest time of the year for rodeo nationally, so a lot of those guys don’t know where they are going to be two weekends out, but we’re drawing some big-name guys to this,” he said.

The Rodeo in the Ranch will pit bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding as well as plenty of kids’ activities including mutton busting, chicken scramble, horse and hayrack rides, and chances to get photos taken with steers.

Grounds open at 9 a.m. July 14 and 11 a.m. July 15 for mutton busting preliminaries, with the actual rodeo starting two hours later each day. In order to participate in the mutton busting, kids must have tickets, be between 4 and 7 years old and weigh less than 50 pounds. All participants also have to wear safety vests and helmets.

This year’s HRCA rodeo is sponsored by 92.5 Wolf Country, Wells Fargo and Clough Cattle Co. Tickets, which are $5 for kids and $10 for adults, are available by calling 303-791-2500. Ticket prices go up $2 on the day of the event. Children age 2 and younger get in free.