WAIMEA — The 43rd annual Parker Ranch Round-Up Club Rodeo will lasso in two days of rodeo events Sept. 2-3 at the Parker Ranch Rodeo Arena in Waimea.
The action-packed weekend is held as a fundraiser to provide educational scholarships for school-age children of Parker Ranch employees.
Family style fun will begin at noon on Saturday with rodeo events such as team roping, double mugging, poo wai u, bull riding, junior bull riding, wahine barrel racing and wahine breakaway roping. The century team roping competition features one team member over the age of 50 and the team members’ combined ages must be more than 100. The crowd is always on its feet for the keiki barrel racing for participants 12 and under and the calf scramble.
On Sunday, the Round-Up Club, in partnership with Parker Ranch, will host a live horse auction. At 9 a.m., participants will register and view the horses with the auction to follow the rodeo slack. Non-riders can experience the horse auction’s fast pace. A gate ticket must be purchased to attend the auction.
Sunday’s rodeo action will begin at noon and continue throughout the afternoon.
Ono food and refreshments will be available both days with ongoing events lasting until 5 p.m. In addition, a variety of vendors will be on hand both days selling items including western style crafts and clothing, in addition to others.
Tickets are $7 per person in advance, available at Parker Ranch Store at Parker Ranch Center and Parker Ranch Headquarters in Waimea, or $8 per person at the gate on rodeo days. Children 12 and under are free.
Parker Ranch, founded in 1847, is home of the paniolo and has more than 160 years of paniolo heritage. The ranch, among the largest and most historic ranches in the U.S., surrounds the town of Waimea and spans 130,000 acres across the island between Kohala Mountain and Mauna Kea. The rodeo grounds are 37 miles by car from Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport and 57 miles from Hilo Airport on Highway 190.
Info: Call 885-7311