The West Hills College Coalinga (WHCC) men’s and women’s rodeo team will host competitors from seven teams in the West Coast Region of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association on Friday and Saturday, March 20 and 21, including schools from California and Nevada.
Teams from WHCC, Feather River College, Lassen Community College, California State University Fresno, Cuesta College, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and the University of Las Vegas will be competing.
“We are hosting this event because it is a great fundraiser for our college and community,” said WHCC Rodeo assistant coach Brooke Jackson. “It’s also important to keep the tradition of rodeo alive.”
The rodeo opens on 5pm on Friday, with a calf dressing contest featuring students and staff from West Hills College Coalinga. Applications for participation in this event will be accepted until March 19 at [email protected].
Friday will also feature a stock dog exhibition from Coalinga’s Mike Cannady and rodeo clown Clint Sylvester, who will keep the crowd entertained throughout the night.
At 7pm that evening, the rodeo continues with riders competing in nine events.
The rodeo finals will get under way on Saturday at 11am, with a championship round for the top 10 contestants from Friday’s events.
Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for students 17 and under and free for children under 10. Admission is free for WHC ASB members with cards.
The WHCC rodeo team has had a good year of competition, with the men’s team currently sitting 7th in the region and the women’s sitting 6th in the region. Several members of the team are also ranked highly in the region.
Jacob Lees is ranked fourth in the region in bareback riding. Jose Machado is ranked 13th in tie down roping while teammate Edgar Machado is 7th in steer wrestling. Pedro Montes is 15th in heeling and Peter Rincon is 14th in team roping heeling.
Autumn Isreal is 14th in team roping heading while Madison Horton is 8th in the region in the breakaway.
The rodeo arena is at 518 W. Gale Ave. in Coalinga. For more information, visit westhillscollege.com.