Roping, riding and family fun drew hundreds to the annual Bolado
Charity Rodeo over the weekend at Bolado Park in Tres Pinos.
Hollister – Roping, riding and family fun drew hundreds to the annual Bolado Charity Rodeo over the weekend at Bolado Park in Tres Pinos.
For Gilroy Fire Captain Marc Stelling, the two-day rodeo was all about family. Stelling, who won the coveted “All Around Cowboy” title for the second consecutive year, competed in every event, but still managed to find time to watch his wife and children compete.
“It’s a family event, so we always have fun,” Stelling said. “It was definitely an enjoyable rodeo. It makes practicing all year worth while.”
For Stelling, the best part of the two-day rodeo was competing with his wife as a team in the ribbon roping event, which they won. The event requires one contestant to rope a steer and the other to retrieve a ribbon from the steer’s tail.
Gina Jansen won “All-Around Cowgirl” and Cheyenne Rey won “All-Around Junior.” Like Stelling, both won for their titles the second year in a row. The three All-Around winners received horse saddles for their efforts.
Event organizer Jaynie Little deemed the event a success.
“It went really well, everything went very smoothly,” Little said. “It was a great show and we loved to see all the people who came out this weekend.”
Profits from the rodeo will be donated to local youth organizations, but Little said it was too early to determine how much money was raised. Last year, the Bolado Charity Rodeo Committee donated $5,400 to local schools, scholarships and youth programs.
This year some of the money will go to a local 4-H Club Sewing Project and the Future Farmers of America Chapters at Anzar and San Benito high schools. Members from both chapters helped out over the weekend.
“They did such a great job,” Little said. “We were really impressed.”
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected]
