Preparations already begun for next year’s Saddle Horse Show after record crowd

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In the wake of the annual event that drew a record 10,000 attendees last weekend, the process for getting ready for next year’s San Benito County Saddle Horse Show and Rodeo began on June 29, the day after the 46 events were completed, the awards and prizes were all handed out, and the last of the three sold-out crowds filed out into the night.

Crews came in that morning to take down the signs, break down the specialized equipment and put away the tables and chairs, storing everything in reverse order to make next year’s load-out more efficient. 

“At that point,” director David Westrick said, “we are just cleaning up the place. But what I do, and many others do, is start taking mental notes for next year.”

The first Saddle Horse Show was held at Bolado Park on Sept. 27–29, 1929, as an adjunct to the annual Farm Bureau Fair. Advertisements at the time proclaimed that the event would feature “200 of the finest saddle horses” in races, stunts and fancy riding.  

The 27-event show was strictly a “home affair,” as reported in the Sept. 20, 1929, issue of the Free Lance: “No foreign or outside riders will be allowed. It will be truly horseman against horseman and not a vaudeville performer against hippodrome affair.”

“All of those events actually had purpose,” Westrick said. “They wanted to showcase the reined cow horse that could do it all. They were events where the cowboys could kind of show off their skills, whether it be a bucking horse or steer wrestling.”

Some things, like most of the roping events, are still San Benito-only, though participation in other events has been broadened to become more inclusive of the rodeo community.

Starting with a $150 budget and room for 500 standing attendees, it was, and still is, overseen by volunteers. Less than a month later, at the Tres Pinos School the show was formalized as a permanent nonprofit organization.

Saddle Horse Show board president J. W. Brewen said that the first shows were as much about community as they were about competition. 

“They gathered to meet and talk,” he said. “There were no phones or internet, so this was their social for the summer.  And it carries the same tradition: everybody gets to meet and see their friends and family and grandkids.”

Blending those 97 years of tradition with larger crowds, more contestants and the advantages of modern technology is not an easy task. Planning in earnest begins in August with a “breakdown” meeting of the 25-member board. 

“We take a very critical and microscopic look at every aspect,” Westrick said. “Kind of hour-by-hour of the event on what things worked, what things need to be improved, what things didn’t work at all. We try to fine-tune it to the best experience for fans that they can have.” 

Some of the members can trace their history back decades, including Brewen, who has been on the board since 2006 when he started entering rodeos in the early 1980s, and is following in the footsteps of his arena director uncle.

There are others, such as board member Rebecca Wolf, whose father, Bill Medeiros, served as a director for 46 years. Wolf chairs the publicity committee, which also oversees the vendor tent, sponsorships and other activities outside the rodeo itself and is in regular touch with the other committees during monthly meetings. 

“For example,” she said, “we have a track and an arena committee, and they make sure their events are listed and in line. There’s a committee that makes sure the grandstands are all in order. We meet once a month and have to-do punch lists just in case things need to be fixed.”

Westrick said that one goal every year is to give spectators a chance to “view the rodeo through a keyhole of history” while also taking a progressive look at what innovations may enhance their experience.

He compares putting the event together each year to creating a Chicago-style pizza, starting off with great dough—the established rodeo traditions—and adding multiple toppings as appropriate.

“Before,” he said, “we didn’t have a fancy sound system or big screens or social media or websites. We can bring those things in here, and it all works really well, but we are still sticking to traditions and authentic things that people really did.”

Westrick said these additions might help make the rodeo more “palatable” to a 2026 audience that might not be fully conversant with what is going on out in the arena and on the track. 

“I think that we’d be just fine today without any of that,” he said, “and horse and rider out there and a crowd. But if you can enhance the experience, add things that might make it more relevant, then those things can be really great additions.”

Other recent innovations include a VIP section adjoining the stands, the annual awarding of scholarships, this year to three recipients, and the Special Rodeo, an event of particular pride to Westrick.

“It’s kind of the highlight for us directors,” he said. “It is all about awareness and providing a safe space. Rodeo is the most diverse and accepting culture I’ve ever seen. You will find every subculture here. All we care about is if you’re excited to be out there in the dirt.”

For Westrick, the heart of the Saddle Horse Show and Rodeo remains the people who remember it from their childhoods, grew to participate in it, and now bring their children and grandchildren to it.

As proof, he points to the stands, which were built in the 1950s, and the reserved box seats that some families have had for decades. The boxes must remain in the original owner’s name until they are surrendered or the family does not renew them.

“I like the idea,” Westrick said, “that there are people out there who love the event so much they’ve passed these boxes down from grandpa to father to son.”

The growing number of attendees is proof that the board of directors has come up with a formula that works, from the parade down San Benito Street which serves as a kick-off, to the Friday Night start, to the full schedule of events on the weekend, to the membership BBQ that closes things out.  

“We are honoring something that has become a great tradition in the community,” Brewen said, “Whether your family has been coming for the last 20 years or it’s your very first visit, we are hoping we can make our tradition yours as well.”

2026 Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo Results

Junior All Around Arena Champion: Lauren Segura

Barrel Race 6-9: Timber Taliaferro

Barrel Race 10-13: Greyson DeHaro

Breakaway Roping 8-13: Lauren Segura

Keyhole Race 6-9: Charlee Jones

Keyhole Race 10-13: Lauren Segura

Mutton Busting 4-6: Brody Renz

Ribbon Race 6-9: Layton Segura / Timber Taliaferro

Ribbon Race 10-13: Maycee Mullins / Pyper Jones

Steer Stopping 8-13: Paizly Wiersma

Junior All-Around Track Champion: Audrey Chavez

Best Girls Working Outfit 4-7: Hailey Raine

Best Girls Working Outfit 8-11: Dakota Perry

Best Girls Working Outfit 12-15: Holli Fowles

Best Boys Working Outfit 4-7: Levi Chavez

Best Boy Working Outfit 8-11: Christian Bozarth

Cow Horse 6-15: Emily Amorim

Reined Stock Horse 6-15: Lily Doty

Western Horsemanship 6-15: Audrey Chavez

Senior All Around Ladies Arena Champion: Cheyenne Rey

Senior All Around Open Arena Champion: Billy J. Aviles

Bull Riding: Colby Strickland

Dally Team Roping: Buster Segura / Logan Anseth

Family Mixed Team Roping: River Sage Red Eagle / John Red Eagle

Ladies Barrel Race: Cheyenne Rey

Ladies Breakaway Roping: Elliote Sparling

Mixed Ribbon Roping: Blake Cronin / Blair Brown

Saddle Bronc Riding: Reed Neely

Steer Wrestling: Kyle Easterly

Tie Down Roping: Talon Petska

Senior All Around Track Champion: Billy Martin

Cattle Sorting: JW Brewen, Kate Brewen, Sarah Brewen

Figure 8 Roping: Scott Spencer

Hackamore Horse: Brendon Clark

Ladies Western Horsemanship: Kodi Fowles

Open Stock Horse: Billy Martin

Non-Pro Boxing: Kelly Saunders

Non-Pro Stock Horse: River Sage Red Eagle

Non-Pro Reined Stock Horse: Natall Melo

Ranch Cow Work & Rope: Blake Cronin

Reined Stock Horse: Bodie Bloxham

Two Rein Stock Horse: Brendon Clark

Open Halter Horse

Overall Halter Horse Grand Champion: Melissa Weis, Horse: Knight Prowler

AQHA Registered Mares 3+: Amanda Bettencourt, Horse: Stylish Tallica

AQHA Registered Geldings 3+: Melissa Weis, Horse: Knight Prowler

Best Appearing Cow Horse Without Saddle: Amanda Bettencourt, Horse: Stylish Tallica

Grand Entry Friday

Jr. Cowgirl: Haven Surber Jr. Cowboy: Clayton Bettencourt

Sr. Cowgirl: Susan Schwabacher Sr. Cowboy: Tony Agredano

Group: Brooke Duncan, Shannon Renz, River Sage Red Eagle

Grand Entry Saturday

Jr. Cowgirl: Sadie Skow Jr. Cowboy: Nicholas Holliday

Sr. Cowgirl: Melissa Weis Sr. Cowboy: Bob Pivetti

Group: Nino Ranch

Grand Entry Sunday

Jr. Cowgirl: Charlotte Nino Jr. Cowboy: Wells Nelson

Sr. Cowgirl: Jaimie Andrade Fowles Sr. Cowboy: Gabriel Mora

Group: Skow Girls, Kaden Rodriguez, Kodi Fowles, Devon Naegele

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