Rodeo fans get ready for Woodlake’s Mother’s Day weekend tradition… the 69th annual Woodlake Lions Rodeo, May 11-12, 2024 at the Woodlake Lions Rodeo Grounds in Woodlake, Calif.! Hosted by the Woodlake Lions Club, the rodeo will feature top specialty acts in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA); top stock from legendary stock contractor, Flying U Rodeo Company; and today’s top competitors on the professional rodeo circuit. Visalia’s hometown cowboy and National Finals Rodeo (NFR) qualifier, Lefty Holman, will compete in the Saddle Bronc Riding during Sunday’s performance.
“This year’s rodeo promises edge of your seat arena action for our rodeo fans from start to finish!” said John Wood, Woodlake Lions Rodeo Chairman. “We look forward to seeing our rodeo fans, and new rodeo fans, up at ‘America’s Most Beautiful Rodeo Grounds’ this Mother’s Day weekend!”
Tickets are on sale atwww.woodlakelionsclub.com, and will be available at the gate. General admission is $20, children 12 through 4 are $15, and children 3 and under are free. Gates open both days at 11 a.m. so fans can shop the vendor booths and enjoy a BBQ lunch, with rodeo performances beginning at 1:30 p.m.
Cowboys and cowgirls from throughout the country will be pulling into the town with “true western hospitality” to compete in the seven events of rodeo: bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, team roping, steer wrestling, tie-down roping, and barrel racing.
The 2024 Woodlake Lions Rodeo will feature the return of trick roping artistry and amazing horsemanship skills of “Charro On The Road,” Tomas Garcilazo. Garcilazo is a four-time PRCA Specialty Act of the Year and won the first season of TBS’ “Go Big Show.” Local specialty act entertainer from Exeter, Calif., Spencer Rose Coughlin, one of the world’s best female trick ropers, will also be performing both days of the rodeo. Closing out the rodeo performances will be the jaw-dropping stunts by motocross daredevils, Flying U Rodeo’s The Flying Cowboyz, sponsored by Beresford Ranches.
Both days will include a crowd favorite, Mutton Bustin’, where local children will ride sheep, competing for a trophy buckle. Other special features will include performances by local drill teams: Visalia Rockettes and Reining Chaos. The adrenalin-pumping bull riding event includes the 2023 California Rodeo Circuit Finals professional bullfighter team, Stanley “Ray Ray” Taylor and Warren Enz, with award-winning rodeo clown/barrelman, Dalton Morris.
Following the rodeo performance on Saturday, May 11, the Woodlake Lions Club presents the annual “After Party,” which is free with rodeo admission for 21 and over. The party will feature a concert by Woodlake’s hometown rodeo cowboy and recording artist, Justin Lawrence and The Double Average Band. Music will also be provided by DJ Double LL, Louie Lopez.
Sunday, May 12 will be a celebration of Mother’s Day, along with the annual “Fiesta Day” to include performances during the rodeo by the charra group, Escaramuza Valle Real, and two Charro bull riders in the bull riding event!
“We’d like to thank our major sponsors of the 2024 Woodlake Lions Rodeo: Valley Pure, Valley Wide Beverage Company and Coors Banquet, Las Espuelas, Alex’s Paint and Body, Spence Fence Company Enterprises, Woodlake Drive-In, Griswold LaSalle Cobb Dowd & Gin LLP, Monarch Ford, Santa Fe Aggregates, Beresford Ranches, Pepsi, Cinch Jeans & Shirts, Boot Barn, Raising Cane’s, Mid-Valley Disposal, and Jack’s Gas,” said Wood. “Our rodeo tradition in Woodlake continues each year because of our sponsors, rodeo fans, our hard-working volunteers, Flying U Rodeo Company, and the rodeo contestants who travel near and far to compete at our rodeo.”
The Woodlake Lions Rodeo Grounds is located at 19400 Ave 398 in Woodlake, Calif. For more information on the Woodlake Lions Rodeo, follow @woodlakelionsclub on Facebook and Instagram, or visitwww.woodlakelionsclub.com.