The Special Shape Rodeo started in 1989 and now has become the most popular event at the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta®. Since the Balloon Fiesta started the Special Shape Rodeo in 1989, many events around the world have now added some kind of special shape event to their program.

The first Special Shape Rodeo balloons launched on Thursday and Friday afternoons and were lucky enough to fly both days. This event was such a success that it created major traffic jams and produced huge crowds. Twenty-eight shapes participated in the first event and the Special Shape Rodeo was on solid ground. The Shape Rodeo grew each year with 35 shapes in 1990, 45 shapes in 1991, 62 shapes from eight countries in 1992, and a whopping 108 in 1996, the largest Special Shape Rodeo.

In 1993 the Special Shape Rodeo added a third flight that would take place Thursday morning and by 1998, Special Shapes were so popular that they were the only balloons to launch from the field on Thursday and Friday mornings and glow from the field on the same evenings– totaling four events dedicated strictly to Special Shapes. The shapes glow has come to be called the Special Shape Glowdeo™. 

2022 Special Shape Gallery

 (119 shape pictures below. Be patient. It may take a moment to load all the pictures. Not all 2022 shapes are presented.)

For a list of the Balloon Names and Pilots, scroll to the end of the pictures.

Balloon Name Pilot Name City State Country
1 DOWN 8-2 GO Mike Garcia Albuquerque NM USA
ADELAIDE THE KOALA Ben Alford Bristol Bristol United Kingdom
AIRABELLE, THE CREAMLAND COW Dale Ritchie Golden, British Columbia V0A Canada
ALBERT THE GNOME Geert Peirsman Belsele O-VL Belgium
ALFRED THE CARPENTER Hinnerk Roehrs Celle Niedersachsen Germany
ALICORN Toby Brown Denver CO USA
ALIEN Lee Hooper Radstock Somerset United Kingdom
BALLOONAFUL SUNRISE Neil Davison Phoenix AZ USA
BEAGLE MAXIMUS James Cassell Albuquerque NM USA
BELZEBUTH Sidney Sevrin Villers La Ville Brabant Wallon Belgium
BOBO THE HAPPY LOBSTER Geert Van Wolvelaer Urgup Nev ehir Turkey
BRAVO BEAR Chiu Shengfu Taipei City
Taiwan
BUD E. BEAVER Colin Graham Belgrade MT USA
BUSBY QUEENS GUARD Paul Burrows Bristol
United Kingdom
BUSTER THE BULLDOG Paul Burrows Bristol
United Kingdom
BUZZY THE BEE Janice Sines Ashland MO USA
CARNIVAL Mark Meyer Vass NC USA
CAROUSEL Frank Campanale Orchard Lake MI USA
CATHY'S HOPE Brian Liley Fall Branch TN USA
CHESHIRE CAT Michael Scott Oklahoma City OK USA
CHIC-I-BOOM Jon Kolba Crooks SD USA
CHRIS P. BACON Jordan Cox Indianapolis IN USA
CLAW'D THE CRAZY CRAB Mike Lorentz Canton OH USA
CLOWN Thomas Siebel Freudenberg NRW Germany
COCO THE CLOWN Gary Sines Ashland MO USA
CORK THE PUPPY Luiz De Assis São Paulo São Paulo Brazil
COSMIC CRISP APPLE Steve Wilkinson Palm Desert CA USA
CUTIE DINK Trudy Degraff Corrales NM USA
CYNTHIA SEAL Pat Rolfe Battle Creek MI USA
DARTH VADER Roger Clark Greer SC USA
DAZ Will Randell Coopersburg PA USA
DUMA Art Hodge The Villages FL USA
EDDIE & RICKENBACKER Andy Cayton Black Creek GA USA
EL FONZ Max Mitchell Champaign IL USA
FLIP FLOP FANTASIES Terry Dillard Debary FL USA
FLYING BUS Rubens Kalousdian Sao Paulo São Paulo Brazil
FLYING SAUCER Marcos Bonimcontro São Paulo São Paulo Brazil
FREDDIE THE FOX Jeff Lawton Godalming Surrey United Kingdom
FREEDOM FLIGHT V Luke Cesnik Saint Cloud MN USA
HAM-LET Doug Gantt Rio Rancho NM USA
HUG A BEAR Filip Audenaert Waasmunster
Belgium
HUMPTY DUMPTY Rich Lawhorn Louisville KY USA
IN THE BUFF Barry Ballinger Lubbock TX USA
ITSY BITSY Don Boyer Belen NM USA
IVO Justin Cox Carmel IN USA
JERRY MOUSE Brian Bennett Agency IA USA
JOELLY Michael Glen Mesa AZ USA
KOSHARE GALLUP Peter Procopio Gallup NM USA
LA RISTRA Mike Shrum Box Elder SD USA
LADY JESTER Robert Lupton Albuquerque NM USA
LASKA THE UNICORN Tom Warren Land O' Lakes FL USA
LILLY LITTLE BEE Bob Romaneschi Peoria AZ USA
LINDY Scott Wooge St. Louis MO USA
LITTLE D Jack Semler Westfield IN USA
LITTLE DOG Valdemir Taveira Osasco São Paulo Brazil
MANDRILL Warley Macedo Boituva São Paulo Brazil
MANSION Darrell Duer Jr. Oklahoma City OK USA
MASTER YODA BALLOON Benoit Lambert Court St Etienne
Belgium
MASTER ZABA John Viner North Muskham Nottinghamshire United Kingdom
MISS AUTUMN David Adler Yuma AZ USA
MISTER GLOBIE Alex Barends Enschede Overijssel Netherlands
MISTER Z Thom Wright Albuquerque NM USA
MODEL T Shane Shipman Rio Rancho NM USA
MONTIE THE BLACK SHEEP Gerg Ashton Meridian ID USA
MR. WINKLE Charles Edwards Ft Myers FL USA
MR. WINTER Peter Griswold Peachtree City GA USA
OFF THE WALL Jeff Haliczer Reno NV USA
OONS KEARLKE Jacob Vaillanourt Trois Rivieres Quebec Canada
OONS WIEFKE Richard Vaillancourt St-Jean Sur Richelieu Quebec Canada
OWLBERT EYENSTEIN Gary Moore Lake Havasu City AZ USA
PANTHER Steve Thomas Bath
United Kingdom
PARTY! Sheryl Reichert El Cajon CA USA
PEANUT Erik Eaton Noblesville IN USA
PEG LEG PETE Dave Reineke Mahomet IL USA
PENCIL BOY Jay Schuler Reno NV USA
PIGASUS Tyler Jaques Battle Creek MI USA
PIKO Sylvain Tremblay St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu Québec Canada
PONDEMONIUM Debbi Waltman Windsor CO USA
PRINCESS NELLY Peter Van Overwalle Nazareth Oost Vlaanderen Belgium
PUDDLES Kris Hlebechuk Wasilla AK USA
PUDDYCAT Gene Stutsman Goshen IN USA
ROBOT WOOZI Paulinho Toledo Guarujá São Paulo Brazil
ROCKET THE FLYING SQUIRREL David Dunrud Jr Geyserville CA USA
RUBBER DUCKY Bob O'brien Waupaca WI USA
SAHUARO GRANDE Paddy Nilz Marana AZ USA
SARAH THE WITCH Rollie Little Glendale AZ USA
SCARLETT Dave Baker Thatcham Berkshire United Kingdom
SHE'S A LADY Tom Forenz Georgetown CO USA
SHERIFF AIRMADILLO Joe August Newport Beach CA USA
SIMBALOO Jeff Bennett Tulsa OK USA
SMOKEY BEAR Beth Wright-Smith Albuquerque NM USA
SNOBIRD Don Edwards Soldotna AK USA
SPACE COWBOY Bradley Burdue Whitehouse OH USA
SPEEDY Earl Buzzard Albuquerque NM USA
SPLASH Jonathan Hodge Madison Heights MI USA
SQUAWKURS Ursula Richards Albuquerque NM USA
SQUAWKURS Katelyn Salazar Los Lunas NM USA
SQUEAK Nathan Dieringer Menasha WI USA
STEGGY George Ary Ribeirão Preto São Paulo Brazil
STORK Mark Komadina Rio Rancho NM USA
SUNNY BOY Ben Drennan Cordele GA USA
SUSHI Katie Griggs Dayton NV USA
SWISS CHALET Roman Müller Härkingen Solothurn Switzerland
SYDNEY Thomas Randall Placitas NM USA
TALL STEVE Andrew Holly
GL13 United Kingdom
TE AMO Tamie Shrum Box Elder SD USA
TEDDY AND LINDY Fabio Lopes Torres RIO GRANDE DO SUL Brazil
THE LOVEBIRDS Maria Chieruzzi Sparta MO USA
TIC TOC Derrick Jones Hudsonville MI USA
TICO Jean-Francois Ferland Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu QC Canada
TIGER Craig Farrell Palmerston ACT Australia
TOM CAT Denny Anderson Ankeny IA USA
TOY CAR Ricardo De Almeida Boituva São Paulo Brazil
UNCLE SAM Frank Urbanski Dakota Dunes SD USA
WAGZ Dean Carlton Danville IL USA
WERA SCREW DRIVER Marcus Strauf Waldbröl NRW Germany
WES THE WOLF Ashley Moore Bideford Devon United Kingdom
WITCH Murilo Gonçalves Pereira Goncalves Sombrio Santa Catarina Brazil
YELLOW BIRD John Cavin Indialantic FL USA
ZORRO Mike Fielding Oak Point TX USA