Business View Civil & Municipal | July 2022

32 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 look like Disneyland, just with horse trailers and RVs. People are everywhere. It’s crazy.” There are always team roping activities happening and some have 800 teams competing. Large events are even broadcasted live from Wickenburg on national television. “It’s not just the rodeo industry driving our local economy and employment,” explains Boyle. “We have various engines. Another big one is behavioral health services.” The town has many in and outpatient rehabilitation clinics specializing in addictions and disorders. The Meadows of Wickenburg and the Rosewood Center for Eating Disorders are just two of the largest employers in the sector with well over 200 workers each. Suan notes, “Wickenburg is the ideal environment for a healthy recovery because, during the rehabilitation process, it helps to be immersed in a hometown atmosphere, especially one that isn’t your own. It’s important not to be in the middle of nowhere the lifestyle. “Being a cowboy myself, I can say there are real cowboys walking down the street here. They own ranches or their families own cattle. They’re real ranchers; not just people wearing expensive cowboy hats,” maintains Suan. It’s fitting this small town holds the impressive title of ‘Team Roping Capital of the World.’ It’s a reputation that Wickenburg has built up over the last few years. From November to April teams on horseback compete to see who can rope the horns and legs of a steer the fastest. The event is held as part of a rodeo or as a separate event. According to Boyle, “We’ve got a big roping facility, Rancho Rio, just outside downtown that attracts thousands of visitors from all over. They travel in their RVs or purchase a second home here. Many participate going between events and earning money. At last year’s National Team Roping Finals, there was a teenager who won a Dodge Ram truck. The parking lot at these events