The San Benito Saddle Horse Association’s Rodeo show has been
around for 70 years, and there is still a handful of people around
to tell about it.
The San Benito Saddle Horse Association’s Rodeo show has been around for 70 years, and there is still a handful of people around to tell about it.
Fulton, “Bumpy” Picetti was 13 when the first rodeo show came to town, but it wasn’t until he was about 16-17 years old before he attended his first rodeo.
“And then it wasn’t until after I got out of the service in 1946 that I really got involved,” he said. “That’s when I took over the grandstand.”
A take charge kind of guy, when it comes to running the grandstand, Picetti is dubbed “The Boss.”
“You need to know anything about the rodeo you have to talk to Bumpy Picetti,” said John Hodges, a SBHSA Board member. “He’s the boss. He’s been around a long time.”
Picetti has held his director’s seat since 1951 and in all those years, he has missed about a dozen meetings and two rodeos.
“I only missed the rodeos because I still served as a reservists and I was out of town,” Picetti said.
Picetti calls himself a “low-profile committee worker.”
“I like keeping a low profile. I don’t need to be in the spotlight, but I do enjoy doing the work,” he said.
One of Picetti’s fondest memories was to see Fred Swanson get up from underneath a 1,800-pound bull.
“He didn’t get hurt and it was rather interesting to watch him jump up because sometimes they don’t make it,” he said.
Built in 1952, the current grandstand is a first class operation. The events are about the same as they were 70 years ago.
“It’s about the bucks and the broncos,” said Picetti, who remembers when the first stands built were wooden and not so accommodating.
“They were pretty rough back then,” he said. “The original grandstand didn’t have a cover over it and people stood out in the heat,” he said.
