Mamas may not let their babies grow up to be cowboys anymore, but there’s still a little cowboy or cowgirl in many of us. If you grew up admiring movie stars like John Wayne or country music legends like Willie Nelson, odds are you dreamed of seeing a real cowboy up close and personal. You’ll have your chance right here in the Brazos Valley this month!
From July 19-21, live cowboy action will be on display at the 47th Annual Bryan Breakfast Lions Club PRCA Rodeo. This three-day rodeo is the only professional rodeo in the Brazos Valley. Competitors come from around the world to compete at the Brazos County Expo Complex. Points competitors earn at the Bryan Rodeo help determine if they go to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
This rodeo wouldn’t be possible without Sammy Catalena. Catalena is a man of many hats both literally and figuratively. He is a charter member of the Bryan Breakfast Lions Club, founder of the Sammy Catalena Rodeo Co., owner of Catalena Hatters, and a Brazos County Commissioner to list a few.
“As we get more urban — and every day we get a little bit more urban — we lose a little of that Old West,” Catalena says about the importance of rodeo. “It’s really our last tie to the Old West.”
Rodeo provides a tangible connection to part of America’s heritage and history. While the Bryan Rodeo has standard events — bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, calf roping, steer wrestling, barrel racing, bull riding — it also features bullfighting exhibitions, rodeo clowns, mini bareback riding, and special rodeo performers.
Rodeo is part of the entertainment business, according to Catalena. “The rodeo business today is just like the movies or anything else,” he says. “You’re all competing for the same people to come. You have to entertain people in order for them to enjoy it, talk about it, and come back.”
The Catalena Cowgirls are among the special performers featured at the Bryan Rodeo and add great entertainment value to the event. The group of paint horse riding women range in age and background, but unite as one succinct group to put on breathtaking rodeo performances. According to Catalena, the Cowgirls have traveled the world. They have been featured on shows like Good Morning America and opened the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo for nine years.
In addition to entertaining, the Bryan Rodeo serves as a family friendly community event. Kids can partake in the action at the rodeo through calf scrambles, mutton bustin’, a petting zoo, and pony rides.
A special event, the Cowpokes Rodeo, is unique to the Bryan Rodeo. At 10 a.m. the Friday of the rodeo, the Catalena Cowgirls invite children with special needs to partake in rodeo activities. “[The kids] do things they would never otherwise be able to do such as ride a horse, rope, do different things,” Catalena shares. “We have clowns there. We have music there. It gives them a little chance to see what rodeo is about.”
The livestock used at the Bryan Rodeo are provided by the Sammy Catalena Rodeo Co. This stock is part of the elite ranks of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Good bucking stock makes for a good rodeo, according to Catalena. His stock consists of National Finals Rodeo selected bucking horses and bulls.
There may be just a little cowboy in all of us, but there is a lot of action-packed, family friendly fun at the Bryan Rodeo. Catalena says people who attend the Bryan Rodeo can expect to experience excitement, specialty acts, and things they don’t see every day.
Tickets to the rodeo are $10 in advance for adults and $8 for kids 2-12. Kids 2 and under get in free. All kids can enjoy pony rides and a petting zoo for free once their entry fee is paid. For more information about the Bryan Rodeo, visit www.bryanrodeo.com.
Proceeds from the Rodeo are used by the Bryan Breakfast Lions Club to fund both national and local service projects and organizations. Some of these projects and organizations include the Brazos Valley Children’s Museum, Brazos Valley Hospice, Brazos Food Bank, Lone Star Lions Eye Bank, and Leader Dog for the Blind.
“There are some things you do in life that you don’t do for the money; you do because it’s a passion and it’s what you want to do," Catalena says. "That's what I've got."
