Lea este artículo en español aquí.
From barrel racing to saddle and bull riding, a myriad of events kicked off the San Benito County Saddle Horse Show and Rodeo weekend on June 27.
Among the winners from the first day of the three-day competition included Abby Jacobson and Piper Renz, who took the Junior Ribbon Race (6-9 years old); Timber Taliaferro, who won the Junior Barrel Race 6-9 years old); and Averie Skow, who won the Girls Best Working Outfit (12-15 years old).
Competitions began with elimination rounds at 8 a.m. in barrel and keyhole races followed at 6:30 p.m. by the wild horse race, which featured 10 teams of three members each who saddled and rode a wild horse.
The latter competition places all the teams in the arena at the same time, providing action to the spectators from every angle, including cowboys being dragged for several feet trying to control the horses by a rope.
Also held on the first day of competition was steer wrestling, a timed event in which competitors ride a horse to chase down a steer, jump from a horse to a steer, then wrestle a steer to the ground by pulling on its horns.
The first day also featured figure-8 roping, a competition unique to San Benito County, which involves a complex move in which a competitor catches a steer over the head with a rope, crosses in front of its chest (making the figure eight shape) and then goes around its two front hooves.
An event that drew much applause from the attendees was cattle sorting, which includes teams of three riding on horses and picking three cattle out of a pack of about 10, based on numbers assigned to them, that must be separated.
The event continues June 28 starting at 8:30 a.m. with Dally team roping followed by Mixed Ribbon Roping.
The complete schedule can be found here.
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service, nonprofit news.