The San Benito County Horse show and Rodeo Parade will be Saturday June 16 at 11:00. a.m. The parade is expected to be lead by 15 or 20 head of cattle driven through the center of downtown Hollister. 

The driving of cattle into and through towns as part of commodity trading has been part of western heritage since the Spaniards introduced livestock to the continent.  Locally,  there were stockyards in town down by where the cannery is today.  Before the invention of the large cattle trucks that would come directly to the cattle ranches, this was a shipping point where ranchers could send and receive livestock.   

Parade Details: 50 + Community entries will include marching bands, floats, horsemen and horsewomen (some in the Old Vaquero Tradition), 2018 Miss San Benito Rodeo, wagons and many community groups. The parade was managed by the San Benito Chamber of the Commerce previously and in 2017 they elected to discontinue it. Representatives from the Horse Show and Rodeo and community members joined together, picked it up and brought it back for 2018.

Another unique entry will be a "bucking tractor". This equipment was rebuilt as a tribute to the memory of Bob Hansen. Cowboys rode on it in the parade during the 1960s.

There will also be horses represented in the parade. Horses and horsemanship still have an important role in the ranching business, originally established by the Spaniards and still prevalent in our county.

Location & Route:

Downtown Hollister, San Benito Street

The parade starts at Haydon and San Benito Streets and proceeds north on San Benito Street to Fifth Street in downtown Hollister. Length: One mile.