Western boots and cowboy roots run deep in Cattle Call Parade and Rodeo
BRAWLEY — Before filling the seats of Cattle Call Arena on Saturday, rodeo fans filled the sidewalks of Main Street here to enjoy an array of decorated floats and marching bands pass by during the 61th annual Cattle Call Parade.
Those in attendance cheered on their favorites from among the 109 entries, though five were recognized to be a notch above the rest.
Winner of the Western Spirit Trophy was the Challenger Little League group, a local league which supports children and adults with disabilities to play baseball.
Highlighted by a giant cowboy boot and eight haystacks arranged on top of each other, Brawley Christian Academy’s float took home the Sweepstakes Trophy. Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District’s float won the Queens Trophy.
Taking home the Mayor’s Trophy award for its second year in a row was the Westmorland Elementary Roadrunners Drill Team and drummers. Students Ariel Castaneda, 10, Marie Mendez, 8, and Marilyn De La Mora, 8, led the marching group made of fourth- to sixth-graders.
“It felt good. It was awesome. My favorite part was seeing all the people cheer,” said Ariel on performing in the parade.
The Roadrunners dressed in cowboy hats and boots while dancing to a country-themed routine, which took four days to perfect. “It was good I got to dance for my school. I was proud,” expressed Marie.
Watching amongst the crowd was Fred Bryant, whose favorite part of the parade was seeing all the marching bands come together and who was proud the Roadrunners once again received recognition.
“That’s awesome because it’s not the size of the band but it’s the heart it has,” stated Bryant. “They did a wonderful job, I was glad to see Westmorland get that trophy. That’s the last city anybody thinks about in this Imperial Valley, but they represented well.”
It had been four years since Bryant last attended the Cattle Call Parade.
He decided to come this year to see Central Union High’s football team showcase their newly won bell after defeating Brawley Union High in the most recent annual Bell Game, but was disappointed after he reportedly heard that the Spartans didn’t attend out of concerns for their safety.
“It’s shame that our society has gotten to this point where we can’t get together and enjoy something like this in fellowship, without worrying about people being angry and violent over something simple as a sport activity,” remarked Bryant.
Nonetheless, Bryant sat alongside Main Street with friends and family members to enjoy the parade for what it is.
“I enjoy coming out because this is a good community thing. I’ve seen a lot of people I haven’t seen in a long time and it’s just unique,” described Bryant. “I like to see the floats. I like to see the little people with the big people all joined together for a common cause.”
Once the parade concluded at noon, the crowds in attendance then made their way towards the Arena for the 61st annual Cattle Call Rodeo’s 2 p.m. daytime showing.
For eight-year-old Brawley resident Johani Lainez, competing in the mutton busting event was likely the ride of her life.
“I was nervous because I was scared that I was going to get dirt in my mouth,” recalled Johani, who not only avoided getting dirt in her mouth, but was able to take home the firstplace ribbon.
Lainez competed against seven other contestants to see who could hang onto a running lamb for the longest period of time.
Admittedly, riding the lamb wasn’t the first-place winner’s favorite part of the experience.
“I liked it most when I touched its fur. It was my first time and it felt good,” said Lainez.
While mutton busting is a crowd-favorite, the team penning event was the sole purpose of attending the rodeo this year for 13-year-old Andrew Angulo.
“That was really fun, seeing all of them trying to hunt down all the different numbers and sorting them out into the pens,” stated Andrew on his favorite event, which requires three contestants find three specific cows among a herd and lead them into a pen in the quickest time possible.
The 13-year-old had been attending the annual rodeo with his family for a majority of his life and enjoyed this year’s nonetheless.
“It’s a family thing to come out here. My family is from Brawley as well as Calipat and throughout the county so we come every year,” explained Andrew. “I thought everything went great. I thought the scores were great, I thought everything went as planned and no one got hurt, thankfully.”