High school rodeo fans from surrounding counties will unite at
Bolado Park Saturday to participate in a leg of the California High
School Rodeo.
High school rodeo fans from surrounding counties will unite at Bolado Park Saturday to participate in a leg of the California High School Rodeo.
San Benito County high schoolers are in District 4, which also includes San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Contra Costa, Alameda and San Francisco counties. There are nine districts in the state.
Participants compete in various events and accumulate points throughout the season to head to the state finals in June.
“We have kids that come from all walks of life,” said Bill Whitney, District 4 president. “Some come from ranches. Some come from the city.”
District 4 has about 60 members, Whitney said. The district-level rodeos are held from the end of September to the beginning of May, with the top five participants in season points heading to state finals in Red Bluff.
“It’s a very family-oriented sport,” Whitney said. “Participants get to meet kids from other districts and parts of the state. They learn to help each other even though they’re competing against each other.”
Saturday’s event is free and open to the public. Events will start at 7 a.m. and slow down around 4 p.m., Whitney said. Events include team roping, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, goat tying, pole bending, barrel racing, steer wrestling and calf roping.
There are twice as many female participants as males, Whitney said.
California High School Rodeo Association members pay entry fees for each competition, part of which gets recycled into prize money. To be eligible, students have to have a 2.0 GPA, according to the CSHRA Web site.
Students who place in the top three in each event at the state competition go on to the National High School Finals Rodeo in Farmington, N.M. in July.
Top participants earn college scholarships, Whitney said.
For more information on the CSHRA, go to www.chsra.com.
