Decked in their cowboy and cowgirl hats, boots and red, white, blue and pink outfits, people from all ages and throughout Monterey County and beyond attended the first day of the 116th annual California Rodeo Salinas.
All who were there enjoyed some good food varying from barbecue chicken, baked potatoes, corn dogs, deep fried zucchini, tacos and of course, beer. But most importantly they were there for the main attractions of music and watching professional rodeo competitions, including saddle bronc riding, barrel racing and bull riding, plus family-friendly events including stick horse racing and mutton busting.
The rodeo events began with a horse parade in East Salinas at East Alisal and Towt street, through a more than four-mile course ending at the Salinas Sports Complex.
Salinas resident Leslie Mejia, 23, participated in the horse parade for the first time riding her 13-year-old white quarter horse named Gringo.
Mejia is used to working with horses as she works at Hope, Horses & Kids, a nonprofit at Rancho Cielo Youth Campus that offers hand-on horse programs for youth.
“I just love horses and working with them and I want to be an inspiration for little kids to have opportunities and get involved with animals,” Mejia says.
About 100 horses participate in the horse parade throughout the weekend, according to color guard co-chairman Mindy Guidotti.
“Being a free event, it's exciting to see the kids, it's good entertainment and the riders get to show off the most beautiful animals,” Guidotti says. “On Saturdays and Sundays the horse riders come from as far as Sacramento and the Central Valley.”
The parade ended at the Salinas Sports Complex, where the rodeo is held and many volunteers and attendees were dressed in pink in honor of breast cancer awareness for the first day theme of “Bucking Cancer Night.”
Alex Martinez was wearing a pink dress, pink earrings and white boots and has been volunteering at the rodeo for the last three years.
“I love interacting with everyone and I’ve been coming since I was a baby and my father came even before he got married,” Martinez says. “So it's tradition to come and now I get to be behind the scenes and help out.”
Anacely Mendez, 19, was also in a pink dress and pink hat with cow print boots and has been attending the event for the last five years.
“It’s a nice experience. I love coming with my friends and family and watching the horse races,” she says. “I also love dressing up and seeing people from many cultures.”
Some of the community members spotted on the first night were Colleen Bailey, president and CEO of the Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce and Soledad District 4 Councilmember Evarista Bañuelos.
Attendees come not just from California, but even as far as Australia and New Zealand, according to Katerina Flores, part of the rodeo marketing committee.
“What makes us different from other rodeos is longevity,” Flores says. “It's one of the oldest-running rodeos and the quality of cattle stack is top-tier that makes it one of the most competitive rodeos, plus we have the best of the best competitors.”
Colten Fritzlan, 26, from Rifle, Colorado has been bull riding since he was 7.
“I grew up on rodeo my whole life and I'm the only one in my family who does this professionally,” he says.
The night ended with bullfights and fireworks.
On Friday, rodeo performances begin again at 6:30pm and at 2pm for both Saturday and Sunday.
Free shuttles are available from the Salinas Soccer Regional Complex to the Salinas Sports Complex after the FIFA World Cup tailgates.