Featuring rodeo events for everyone
By DANIELLE WIRNOWSKI— sports@theaggie.org
Folsom County held the 2025 Folsom Pro Rodeo from July 3 to 5 at the Dan Russell Rodeo Arena. This year’s rodeo was proclaimed “Western Rodeo Days” by Sarah Aquino, the mayor of Folsom, for its 64th annual run.
While the rodeo was established in 1960, it has since then become a beloved Folsom summertime event, meant to celebrate Western heritage, local Folsom community pride, family togetherness and love.
The Folsom community honored Charlie Grows, a retired firefighter and a longtime volunteer for the rodeo, as the 2025 Grand Marshal.
The rodeo consisted of the standard Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) events, including but not limited to bull riding, barrel racing, team roping, saddle bronc riding and steer wrestling. The rodeo also consisted of plenty of supporting events, such as the Painted Ladies Drill Team, Flying Cowboys Motocross and mutton busting.
While most of the public knows what bull riding and bronco riding are, all the other events in the PCRA can be confusing for a first-time rodeo attendee.
The events are split into three categories: timed events, rough stock events and specialty events.
The events that fall under the “timed” category are barrel racing, breakaway roping, tie-down roping, team roping and steer wrestling. Barrel racing and breakaway roping are solely women’s events, while the other events are men’s. Timed events are scored purely based on the clock: The fastest team wins, but any mistakes made can add seconds or even wipe the run completely.
Barrel racing is an event that involves a horse and its rider racing in a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels as fast as possible. For this event, the horse and the rider must put speed and precision at the top of their skill list.
Breakaway roping is when a rider ropes a calf until the rope “breaks away” from the saddle horn, and time is called.
Tie-down roping is all about speed, control and horsemanship, in which a cowboy must rope a calf, dismount and tie three of its legs together.
Team roping, on the other hand, is dependent on teamwork and timing to be successful. Two riders, a “header” and a “heeler,” each tackle roping the steer’s horn and roping the hind legs, respectively.
Steer wrestling is similar to tie-down roping, minus the roping aspect. A cowboy must jump from his horse onto a running steer and wrestle it to the ground by the horns.
On the other hand, rough stock events include bareback riding, saddle bronco riding and bull riding. These events are scored on a 100-point system, with half the points allocated to the rider and the other half to the animal.
Bareback riding consists of a cowboy riding a bucking horse with only a rigging strap to hold onto. Judges score based on spurring technique, control and matching the horse’s movements.
Saddle bronc riding, while similar to bareback riding, is when a cowboy tries to stay on a bucking horse using a specialized saddle and rein. Judges focus on rhythm, control and a smooth spur stroke in time with the horse.
Bull riding, the most anticipated and famous event, is where riders attempt to stay on a bucking bull for eight seconds. Scoring for this event is based on control, balance and the ability to stay centered on the bull throughout the whole ride.
The Painted Ladies Drill team, specializing in precision horseback performances, and Flying Cowboys Motocross, featuring specialized freestyle dirt bike stunts, were woven into the PCRA events, along with various other family-friendly activities. These performances added crowd thrills and filled the silences between events.
Arguably, the best part of a rodeo — for the kids anyway — is mutton busting. Children, typically between the ages of 4 to 7, attempt to hang onto a woolly sheep for as long as possible, essentially making it a miniature bull riding event.
While the rodeo is packed full of events and chaos (in only the best way), it is celebrated more for its community spirit and the importance of its heritage rather than for competition results. The best, and really the only way to experience this rodeo, just like any other, is to get out there and witness all these nightly events in person. Two upcoming rodeos near Davis, the Marysville Stampede in Marysville (Sept. 13 to 14) and the Clements Stampede in Clements (Oct. 18 to 19), are sure to capture your attention.
Written by: Danielle Wirnowski — sports@theaggie.org
