‘ A Normal Saturday’

By Mark Larson newsroom@northcoastjournal.com

Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” is a country music song written by Ed Bruce and his wife Patsy Bruce and first recorded by Ed in 1975.

But if they do grow up to be cowboys or cowgirls — or bull fighters — they likely were in the Friendly City of Fortuna this last week. The 102nd annual Fortuna Rodeo (it’s only missed one year since its start, 2020 due to the pandemic) threw a nineday party with a 5k run, a chili-cook-off, a night of children’s games, a junior rodeo, firemen’s games, Bullfighters Only Night, Quadiators, a Saturday-morning parade down Main Street and 3,700 pounds of beef barbeque on Sunday … plus a weeklong carnival.

My top priorities were Saturday’s two sessions of traditional rodeo that showed off the skills of the humans and the animals in several events. The first rodeo of the day featured breakaway roping, calf roping, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, ribbon roping, team roping, barrel racing and bull riding. In a moving Empty Saddles tribute, the rodeo board of directors recognized the passing of three local men: Roy Curless, John Rice and Travis Low. The Rice family was also honored as the Grand Marshall of this year’s Fortuna Rodeo.

A well-done traditional rodeo clown act for the Saturday rodeos by Dalton Morris, of Kansas City, kept the crowd laughing (“That bull was angrier than Will Smith at the Oscars … ”) and supportive of the cowboys and cowgirls after their success- es or better luck next times. Morris also demonstrated his skills with a bull whip and trick roping.

A huge crowd jammed Rohner Park for the evening Bulls, Broncs, Bands & Brews event that began with youngsters showing off their developing skills in mutton busting (riding a sheep without saddle or bridle), steer riding and junior bull riding. Rounds of bull riding and bronc riding followed.

Saturday’s rodeo events were organized, with an efficient, skilled crew on horseback quickly clearing the arena of the cows, horses and bulls after each round. Most impressive in the bull riding were two bull fighters who at one point risked their lives to help a cowboy in a predicament — his hand was still stuck in the rigging after he was bucked off a bull. He survived without injury thanks to the help of the two bull fighters, Billy Hammett and Anthony Hawkins.

The cold brews and food vendors were popular all afternoon and night, and after the second rodeo the live bands kept the after-party going late into the night.

“This finally felt like a normal Saturday (after the pandemic years),” said Shannon McWhorter, president of the Fortuna Rodeo Association, following the afternoon rodeo. “It’s good to see the attendance and lots of local cowboys, plus others from Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Montana. One thing we’ve done to attract families is to keep the admission prices for events very low or free. They’ve been the