PRORODEO Sports News - July 11, 2025

own charitable initiatives and partners with the Golden Circle of Champions. Elizabeth Carranza, who runs the Springville Sierra Rodeo social media channels, helped host a family that was dealing with the effects of child hood cancer during the second performance of the rodeo. “The family had actually never been to a rodeo before, so they were very excited,” Carranza said. “I was just up there with them and Lefty Holman and some of his friends went up to great them. They were really taking their time, following each other on Instagram and being gracious with their time to give them a full rodeo experi ence. “It’s really nice to be able to give back in that way and I’m very glad to work with that organization.” The Desert Rodeo also joined in with the Golden Circle of Champions to raise funds and awareness for families battling childhood cancer. The Clovis Rodeo, meanwhile, is a revenue generator for the San Joaquin Valley. Ron Dunbar, a member of the event’s board of directors for the last 25 years, said he’s proud to see the impact the Clovis Rodeo has had and continues to have on his hometown. “All of our vendors our nonprofits,” Dunbar said. “The city estimates that we generate $30 million worth of funds throughout the valley during the rodeo and that’s pretty cool. That’s a lot of money and we’re glad we can help out the city and the county.” Without a focus on the future, the Springville Sierra Rodeo wouldn’t have celebrated its 75th anniversary this year, the Lakeside Rodeo wouldn’t be in its 27th year with the PRCA, the 111-year-old Clovis Rodeo wouldn’t be a key stop of the PRORODEO Playoff Series, and the Desert Rodeo would only be a one-time event. But each committee makes vision a priority despite the countless bumps in the road that reveal themselves each year. DiLaura and her five partners on the Desert Rodeo com mittee secured their arena space at the Desert Interna tional Horse Park for the next five years, thanks in large part to board member Traci Brooks. “This is a great opportunity, and I look around at this are na and look at the partners we have and so many people took a chance on us,” DiLaura said. “My mind is blown to think that if this is Year 1, what is Year 2 going to look like?” MOVING FORWARD

The Lakeside Rodeo unveiled the addition of a new an nouncer’s stand and VIP club space this year. And the El Capitan Stadium Association is always looking for ways to move the event forward, while maintaining the rodeo’s strong tradition. “This is still a small town,” Armstrong said. “As we all grow and develop with digital devices and streamline our lives, Lakeside is still Lakeside. It was started on rodeo, and it’s still rodeo today.” The Young Guns Organization at the Springville Sier ra Rodeo is solely focused on the future. The group of next-generation leaders is intimately involved with the board of directors, learning from their decades of expe rience and working out how to keep the event moving forward. “We formed the Young Guns to learn from our board members,” Carranza, the group’s president, said. “We shadow them and see where our skill sets are most valu able. And hopefully one day we take over. We have very big shoes to fill…but this is the board’s mindset that we need to start planning for the future.” The Clovis Rodeo board sees itself as a bastion of the Western lifestyle, and it plans to continue carrying the tradition that began over a century ago on a railroad stop to the next generation. “We want to keep that tradition going,” Dunbar said. “That’s how we keep our Western heritage going by con tinuing to do things the way that we do. “We try to make things better for the fans and keep every body happy … That’s how we’ll keep growing.”

A parachuter brings the American Flag into Desert International Horse Park during the opening ceremony at the Desert Rodeo. PRCA photo by Lexi Christopher

12 PRORODEO Sports News