​Jul. 15—MITCHELL — A long-time bullfighter for a Mitchell rodeo was inducted Tuesday night into a local hall of fame in his final year of bullfighting.The Mitchell Corn Palace Stampede hosted its community kick-off on Tuesday, July 14, in a family-style celebration with locally-grown pork for a BBQ sandwich meal at Stampede Park. The Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo inducted bullfighter Kaleb Barrett into its hall of fame, announced the parade marshal for Saturday morning’s Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo Parade down Mitchell’s Main Street, and recognized the rodeo’s long-standing stock provider.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe 55th Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo Parade theme is America 250: Red, White and Blue.Nightly performances start at 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 16 with Extreme Bulls, followed by rodeo performances on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A family fun day on Sunday includes cowboy church at 10 a.m., and a chili cook-off from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with final rodeo performances at 8 p.m.Barrett, a long-time Stampede bullfighter, was inducted into the Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo Hall of Fame. Barrett is a Whitehall, Montana native and now resides in Stevensville, Montana with his wife and three children.Barrett, 42, was the Stampede’s bullfighter from 2008 to 2022. This year, he’s come back to Mitchell for his final year in the sport.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement”I have to concede to Father Time. He’s undefeated,” Barrett said.Barrett fought bulls for 19 years professionally and 24 years total. Bullfighting is all about protecting the rider, according to Barrett. Bullfighters are just a part of the show, he said.Barrett believes bullfighting means being fully-committed to the bull rider’s safety, being absolutely selfless, and putting his life on the line for someone else.”That’s our whole responsibility and job. When guys get on bulls, they shouldn’t have to think about what’s going to happen after. They should be able to trust that we’re going to keep them safe after the ride is done,” Barrett said.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThis year’s rodeo features a recently-completed entrance with ticket windows, and a second arena for youth events, which is ready for 2027 events according to Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo Committee Chair Jim Miskimins. The recent addition of the new arena was not ready in time for scheduling purposes.”We built such a nice place that we want to host more and more people to this location, and to bring more people to Mitchell,” Miskimins said.Miskimins told the Mitchell Republic the additional arena allows for events to be done in a reasonable amount of time.”We’re ready for those youth rodeos because, unlike our rodeo where there are eight events, the youth rodeos have 12 or 14 (events),” Miskimins said.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEntries are strong for the rodeo. Horses are drawn for rodeo events, and judging is based half on the horse and half on the rider. According to Miskimins, when hors