Thousands of people made their way to the annual Panaewa Stampede Rodeo on Saturday afternoon.
The rodeo came back in a big way with one of the largest attendances in recent history, according to organizer Nancy Cabral.
The crowd cheered on competitors in events such as double mugging, tie down, century team roping and barrel racing.
Volunteer Baba Nabarro was happy to see the big crowd as he helped control the flow of foot traffic.
“I think people were ready to come to the rodeo especially with the mask requirement,” Nabarro said. “If we’re able to do this event well with the amount of people then maybe the county will open up more, which would be great for everyone.”
Anthony Ramos was excited to go to one of his first events since moving to the Big Island two years ago.
“This is a great family friendly event that we were excited to come out to,” Ramos said. “It’s especially nice to have this open air gathering after everything we’ve experienced the past few years.”
Ramos was happy to see acquaintances and support his neighbor in the competition.
“We have a neighbor competing and I’ve already run into other people I know. It’s just great to have a gathering where this can happen,” Ramos said. “It’s nice to see my daughters having a ball, too. We had to get them the lasso.”
Lori Lorenzo and Ikaika Grace were happy to be back in a place they both feel comfortable.
“It is awesome that the rodeo is back and still bringing in a big crowd,” Grace said.
“We have both done rodeo events in the past, so it is really nice to be back in this environment,” Lorenzo said.
The rodeo will continue today with more events, food and other vendors beginning at noon.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com