Parker Ranch will host its 61st annual rodeo and horse races in Waimea on Friday, July 4. Fifth generation rancher DeeDee Keakealani Bertelmann is looking forward to the events.
“All of us who live this paniolo lifestyle and do it day in and day out, we do it because we love the land first and foremost, and we love the animals that we care for,” Bertelmann told Aloha State Daily. “We feed people. We produce food to sustain our people. Everybody thinks it's a glamorous life. It is hard work, and it takes a very special person to want to be out there.”
The rodeo will continue rain or shine.
“Be prepared for wind. Be prepared for sideways rain and be prepared for a beautiful day,” she said. “You never know what you're gonna get in Waimea — might be a combination of all three, but either way, we welcome the moisture because it nourishes our land. We welcome the makani because it blows away the vog. We welcome the sunshine. So whatever element chooses to join us that day, we appreciate whatever we get.”
The rodeo includes horse races, team roping and an event called Poʻo Wai U, which is only done in Hawaiʻi and replicates a cowboy roping a wild bull in the mountains.
“My favorite event is the Poʻo Wai U event,” Bertelmann said. “That's my favorite event — besides the horse races because the horse races are just so exhilarating and exciting.”
Bertelmann encourages attendees to come early — by 6:30 a.m. — as seating is first-come, first served and quickly becomes standing room only. The gates open at 7:30 a.m. and the events run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the one-day rodeo. No pets or alcohol are allowed on site.
This year, with support from the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, there will be two jumbo screens to share live streaming video and playbacks, a first for the competition.
In 1908, Parker Ranch Cowboy Ikua Purdy captured national attention when he traveled by steamship and train from Hawaiʻi to Wyoming to compete in the Cheyenne Frontier Days, where he won the national title for roping.
In 1910, Parker Ranch built its race track in Waimea to support its thoroughbred breeding program. Soon, roping events were added to the annual horse races. Eventually, the ranch shifted to raising quarter horses, which excel at springing short distances and are used to work cattle.
Parker Ranch built a race track in Waimea to support its thoroughbred breeding program. (Nancy Erger)
Richard Smart, the last heir to the Parker Ranch legacy wanted to host a rodeo to showcase the skills of the ranch’s paniolo.
“He admired their roping and riding skills, and he wanted to showcase the skills that his cowboys had,” Bertelmann said. “He knew that it took a special person to be able to adapt, learn and master the skills of the paniolo.”
Originally, the event was free and featured just Parker Ranch cowboys. Today, the competition also includes paniolo from other ranches. There will also be local food and craft vendors, a petting zoo and pony rides.
Established in 1847, Parker Ranch operates more than 130,000 acres of land on Hawaiʻi Island. The ranch is the second largest private landowner in the state, following Kamehameha Schools.
When Smart died in 1992, the ranch moved under the control of the Parker Ranch Foundation Trust, which benefits Parker School, Hawaiʻi Preparatory Academy, North Hawaiʻi Community Hospital and the Richard Smart Fund at the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation. Micah Kāne, CEO and president of Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, was recently named the Parker Ranch’s new CEO and president. Kāne will start full-time at the helm on Sept. 1
Rodeo tickets can be purchased in advance at Kamuela Hardwoods, Paniolo Preservation Society and Waimea Butcher Shop are $10. Tickets purchased online are $12, plus fees and taxes. Admission can also be purchased at the gate for $15.
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Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
