TRES PINOS—Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Will Centoni, despite being one of the youngest competitors in the bull riding competition in last week’s 81st annual San Benito County Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo at Bolado Park, not only won the event, but he also teamed up with Blake Teixeira to win the dally team roping competition.
That allowed Centoni, an incoming senior at San Benito High, to win one of the Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo’s most prestigious honor, the Bob Randick Memorial Perpetual All-Around Senior Arena Award.
Not bad for someone who entered the bull riding portion of the event on a one-day riding permit (Centoni is not yet a member of the California Cowboys Professional Rodeo Association and therefore had to purchase a one-day permit to ride).
Centoni, who was actually competing in his first bull riding event of the year, totaled 138 points on two rides to capture the bull riding event by 11 points over second-place finisher Alex Guzman of Escalon.
The Senior Arena dally team roping competition was a much tigher affair, as Centoni and Teixeira clocked a time of 23.15 seconds, narrowly edging out two other teams that finished in 23.16.
“I’ve won the all-around at different places, but this was kind of cool because everyone was older than me,” said Centoni, who will be competing in the upcoming National High School Rodeo Association bull riding competition in Wyoming. “I like this event because it’s local, and I like it out here because there’s a lot of country.”
Centoni has only been living in Hollister for one year, having moved to the area last summer from Castro Valley. While his parents still live in the East Bay—Centoni lived in Castro Valley for 10 years—he relocated here to work at Wyatt Bourdet’s ranch.
Bourdet, who had a nice run of his own in Friday’s dally team roping competition—he teamed up with Brendon Clark to post the fastest time of the night, 8.43 seconds—is one of the more well-known cowboys in San Benito County, with his family being longtime local area ranchers.
The performances by Bourdet, Centoni and Clark were just some of the many highlights of the Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo, which continues to be one of San Benito County’s most popular events because it consistently puts on a quality show.
This year was no different. From the grand entry parade to the cattle sorting to the wild horse races, the event had something for everyone. This year’s show came with two upgrades to the facility: An improved sound system and a different soil that was supposed to make things easier for both the animals and competitors.
“They used to have the old clay and it would get really pact, so by the end of the show it would really get beat down,” said Billy Aviles, the San Benito High baseball coach who also competed in three events, including the dally team roping, mixed ribbon roping and wild cow milking events. “But the new sand they put in here is much easier on the animals and the overall appearance of it is really nice. The facility was in need of an upgrade, and the differences were noticeable.”
What makes the Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo unique is the fact that it keeps things fairly local—meaning the majority of competitors were from California—when it comes to competitor participation. However, in some events such as the bull riding and bareback bronc riding categories, competitors from outside San Benito County are welcomed in to make for a better competition.
“In some events, you need to make a couple of adjustments and find people, which makes for a better show,” Aviles said. “A lot of big rodeos get people from all over the country, and there’s nothing wrong with that. For our show, though, mostly everyone is local and that’s a neat thing no matter how you look at it.”
Newark resident Matthew Powell, who was making his third appearance in the Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo, said he likes the vibe of the event and the location—Bolado Park is just a 1 hour, 15 minute drive from Newark, a city of 42,000 about 25 minutes north of San Jose.
In Friday’s opening round, only three riders—Centoni, Dustin Franco and Clayton Brum—lasted eight seconds to get a qualifying score. Often times riders are at the mercy of the luck of the draw.
Some bulls are simply meaner than others, and Powell happened to draw one of the nastiest bulls in the event. The result was somewhat predictable: He got bucked off almost immediately.
“It was one of those miserable days,” he said. “I usually have a better trip, but he jumped out, and I didn’t know where he was going after that.”
Powell spent plenty of time of his childhood in the rural areas of Castro Valley and Livermore, where his family had a farm and ranch. The 23-year-old got into bull riding after watching a bullriding event in Texas.
“The next thing you know I’m hooked,” he said.
Powell has been bullriding for 10 years, and he said the thrill of every ride is getting on the bull and not knowing what’s going to happen next.
“You’re just reacting, and you don’t know what’s going on,” he said. “You still have to have that fear factor, and it’s an adrenaline rush. But yeah, you have to be a little crazy to bullride.”
Bull riders are a close-knit group; Powell said there’s a core group that he regularly sees on rodeo stops.
“It’s a close circle,” he said. “Yeah, we’re competing against each other, but we’re more so competing against the animal. In the end, we all want each other to do well.”
