Ready to Wrangle
Red Bluff Junior Round Up Cattle Days Rodeo…
While the world of Junior Rodeo can be just as serious as a professional production of adults, an annual event later this month promises to bring joy and laughs to young and old as all ages compete in the Red Bluff Junior Round Up Cattle Days Rodeo at Rolling Hills Equestrian Center in Corning.
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A fundraiser for the Red Bluff Junior Rodeo scholarship program, the event brings together families with a wide variety of typical and not-so-typical rodeo events in a spirit of fun and friendly competition. “It’s accessible to all,” says Jessica Brown, treasurer of the Red Bluff Junior Round Up and co-coordinator of the junior rodeo queen contest. “It’s a big family atmosphere, whether people are part of the association or just there for fun. All the parents compete and parents
and kids jump in to help. Everyone just has fun.”
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There are event categories for the very young, including stick horse races and dummy roping to more traditional barrel races and steer riding for older entrants. The boot race for those under five years is a
crowd favorite, eliciting cheers from the grandstands as the toddlers search through a pile of their boots thrown together to recover a pair and then race to the finish line. “It is the funniest one to watch,” Brown says. “I love it.”
Another crowd pleaser that’s a favorite amongst the youth participants is the hide race. An adult – often a parent – will race a horse around a clover pattern of barrels with a hide tied behind the horse carrying a young person. It’s a wild and exhilarating ride for the youngster, and a challenge of speed and agility for the adult. “Oh my gosh, the kids love it,” explains Brown.
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Many of the traditional rodeo events are modified for accessibility and safety to young people developing their skills. While a youth age 6 to 9 may not be ready to wrestle a steer, they can daub a steer from horseback using a mop handle affixed with a tennis ball dipped in a marking substance. Team roping for the young is done with a moving facsimile of a steer. While older contestants will ride live animals in the rough stock events, they will be deemed challenging but not terrifying. “They are not rank like you’d see at the bigger rodeos, but they aren’t walking out of the chute either,” says Brown.
The jackpot barrel racing event, however, is co-sanctioned with the North State Barrel Racing Association and will allow contestants to accumulate points and earnings for the season.
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While many of the events are developed with fun in mind, the prizes are serious business. Traditional buckles and spurs are brought in as prizes, giving more people an opportunity to win, especially those who might not compete on the circuit year-round. “We wanted to do something that would pump these kids up,” says Brown. “It’s neat to give these kids the opportunity.”
The Cattle Days Rodeo also is the debut for Red Bluff Junior Rodeo Queen contestants. They will be interviewed, offer speeches and demonstrate horsemanship patterns on the opening night. Winners will represent the association throughout the year and preside over the Red Bluff Junior Round Up in September.
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With about 250 contestants, “we are one of the largest junior rodeos in Northern California,” says Brown. In 2024, the event was a qualifying contest for the Junior Patriot, similar to a junior National Finals Rodeo for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Winners could qualify for a big event in either Las Vegas or Fort Worth, Texas.
The Cattle Days Rodeo will be held February 21-23 and scholarships will be presented at a formal dinner on March 8. The more competitive rodeo season will pick up in late spring, but this relaxed and joyous event may be just what people need to get through the winter. •
Red Bluff Junior Round Up Cattle Days Rodeo
February 21-23
Rolling Hills Equestrian Center
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