WAIMEA — A standing room only crowd piled around the track at Parker Ranch for the 54th annual July Fourth Rodeo and Horse Races on Monday. For over half a century the event has brought together ranches from all over the Big Island, providing a fun-filled, family atmosphere with food, games and even pony rides.
For the competitors, the Independence Day rodeo provides three special horse races — the one-eighth mile race, the quarter mile race and the relay race. These races are unique to Parker Ranch, which claimed a clean sweep by winning all three events this year.
Parker Ranch dominated the heats in the one-eighth mile races earlier in the day to sweep all three finals spots. Racing against teammates, Brandon Hoopai took first place in a photo finish riding aboard Mater.
It was Hoopai’s first win in the one-eighth mile race in three tries, and he managed to do it while riding a co-worker’s horse. Mater is no stranger to the race, having been used by other riders in the past including Hoopai’s brother Jesse.
“It was a rush and I am kind of jittery, but it was fun,” Hoopai said. “I started off in the back at the beginning but my horse pulled it off in the end.”
In the quarter mile race, Parker Ranch nearly swept the finals again, putting two riders in. Racing aboard Wyatt, Klem Kaniho pulled away for the victory. Kaniho has competed in the horse races since 1989, when he joined the ranch out of high school. This was his fourth victory in the quarter mile.
“I didn’t know I was going to make it but my horse ran really hard and was a lot stronger in the finals than he was in the first race,” Kaniho said. “This is a great event for the community and people love to come and watch the horse races. Without them I don’t think it would be as exciting. Horse racing is an adrenaline rush.”
Parker Ranch went for the sweep in the three-quarter mile relay — the final race of the day. Brandon Hoopai, along with his brother Jesse, and Kaniho, joined forces to easily beat the team of Dane Andrade, Fatso Paiva and Ala Lindsey from Andrade Ranch. The Andrade Ranch team dropped the baton on the first exchange, eliminating them from the race.
“The relay race is a tradition that has been passed down for generations,” Jesse Hoopai said. “I watched my grandfather and dad race and I am so happy to be apart of it now and be apart of the tradition.”
Jesse Hoopai has been racing for Parker Ranch for nine years and is always toward the front of the pack.
“I grew up watching this rodeo and I am glad to be apart of it and spread the paniolo lifestyle to the community,” Jesse Hoopai said. “This is a lifestyle I hold dear to my heart. This town is paniolo and should always be paniolo.”
Along with horse racing, the Parker Ranch rodeo also included team roping, poo wai u, ranch mugging, junior-senior ribbon roping and a new event, calf dressing. Calf dressing pitted members of the community against each other in an event were they had to put a shirt on a calf. The winning team had money donated to the charity of its choice.