Purchase This Photo
Ali Bilkey, 13, ropes a calf in Santa Ynez as she prepares Wednesday for the team roping junior competition that will be held Sunday at the Santa Maria Elks/Unocal Event Center. Bilkey won titles last year in barrel roping and breakaway roping and hopes to do well again this year. //Len Wood/Staff
Residents and visitors can get a taste of western action this weekend, a few weeks before the 65th annual Santa Maria Elks Rodeo hits town.
On Saturday, pairs will compete in team roping at the Santa Maria Elks/Unocal Event Center, east of Highway 101 at Santa Maria Way.
In a day-long event, dozens of pairs - husbands and wives, children and their parents, and friends - will test their skills for a chance to compete during the annual rodeo, which runs from May 30 to June 1.
Junior rodeo activities are set for Sunday at the rodeo grounds, along with women's events. The top youth will compete in the mini rodeo, set for the morning of May 29, with hundreds of local schoolchildren sitting in the audience at the rodeo grounds.
Admission to both Saturday and Sunday events is free.
Tickets for the rodeo can be purchased by calling 922-6006. This year's event will have performances at 7 p.m. Friday, May 30; 2 p.m. Saturday, May 31; and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 1.
For the first time, the traditional opening night instead will be a Professional Bull Riders Inc. tour stop. The Elks Rodeo Office also is handling ticket sales for that event.
May 8, 2008
Email a friend
Printer friendly