Rodeo had it all
Food, fun, and entertainment for all ages
SPRINGVILLE — Fans attending the 70th annual Springville Sierra Rodeo over the weekend saw it all — from the local children’s mutton bustin’ riding of sheep to cowboys and cowgirls from around the country calf roping, barrel racing and riding saddle and bareback top bulls and bucking broncs as the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit arrived to the tiny foothill town.
On Sunday, a large crowd gathered under cloudy skies for Day 3 of what is called the “Biggest Little Rodeo in the West.”
As the Springville Sierra Rodeo Women’s Flag Drill Team wowed the crowd with their horses’ pounding hooves, the women proceeded to perform equestrian maneuvers.
“Folks, it doesn’t get any better than this,” announced Randy Corley, world champion rodeo announcer who has more than 38 years of awards and honors, including being named the “Announcer of the Year” in 2015. “Your best is right here in your community.”
And he was right. The drill team performed their prestigious drill maneuvers — riding their horses through turns and circles “splitting the apple,” “cutting the pie,” “splitting the fence” and doing the “zipper” as well as performing the “double suicide” maneuver — the running of two groups towards each other at full force before maneuvering and passing each other at the last second.
As the team left, one solo rider entered the arena with the American Flag as “God Bless the USA” blared over the sound system.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, nobody ever said we have to welcome that banner quietly. How about a little American pride in ol’ Springville out here?” Corley said as the crowd exploded in hearty applause and loud whistles. “Folks I’m going to invite you to open your hearts and open your voices.”
Corley then invited the crowd to join Nathan Osborn and his daughter Grace in the singing of “The Nation’s No. 1 song” — The Star Spangled Banner.
And just like that, the crowd was more than ready for the first event of the rodeo. Country, and occasional pop, music blared as each cowboy entered one at a time on bucking broncos. In addition, there were plenty of kidfriendly activities, such as the Silver Dollar Dig, opened to all children age 10 and younger, who could dig and find silver dollars to keep.
Whiplash, the cowboy monkey, was an obvious fan favorite — especially among the younger fans, who rushed the fence for a closer look. Whiplash rode on top of a border collie as he attempted to round up sheep.
In the crowd was 5-year-old Kourtney Robles of Ojai who could be seen enjoying the festivities, and attempting the art of roping with a lasso. She practiced with her grandfather and with other children. She was not the only one, many children had the small lassos and could be seen twirling the rope around and lassoing.
Also enjoying the festivities were Brenda Joven, and Ray Flores Sr. and his granddaughter, Lee-way-nit Flores from the Tule River Reservation. The singing duo, known in the community as ‘Grandpa and Princess Lee-lee’ said they never miss the rodeo and were looking forward to the bull riding.
As the crowd watched various rodeo acts, Corley and his sidekick, the rodeo clown, told jokes and encouraged crowd participation along the way – asking them to do everything from sing, clap along, compete in a cheering sound off, and dance.
“The fans have had a great time,” said Kenny Walker, rodeo board member and treasurer of the Springville Sierra Rodeo Association. “Attendance was up this year. We had a higher number on every single one of our days — five to six thousand total.”
Saturday is always the most-attended day, Walker said, and this year was no exception, with numbers above the 3,200 mark that day, including 10 individuals visiting from Holland.
“They called me three months ago and said they had decided they wanted to come to our rodeo — four adults, six kids — including a couple of teen boys,” Walker said. “They had a great time, as well as all our fans.”
In addition to the entertainment, there were plenty of food choices, from tri-tip burritos, ribs, and full dinner plates piled with tri tip, bread, beans and corn on the cob, to individual items — hamburgers and hotdogs, baked potatoes, nachos and tacos.
In addition to all the food, there was a variety of drinks and plenty of sweet options — from brownie sundaes, ice cream, and strawberry shortcake, to cotton candy, churros, popcorn and snow cones.
“All of our food comes from community service clubs, and all of the money raised goes right back into the community,” Walker said. “The livestock is also incredible.”
With everything at the Rodeo, it was a winning combination for a perfect family day.
Genoa Ingram agreed. One of only a handful of people in the crowd who stood to dance when prompted, she admitted to being a 1970’s Springville Rodeo Princess. Now living in Oregon, she was there with her brother, Steve Boggess, now of Washington, to celebrate their sister’s birthday. Luann Leavens, a former Canterbelle rider, was celebrating with family at the rodeo.
“I called her up and she said all she wanted for her birthday was to come to the rodeo and have a good time,” Ingram said. “So I called up my brother and said ‘Let’s go’ and we came. I am enjoying this.