HILO — The Big Island’s paniolo culture was on full display this past weekend as the island’s youth cowgirls and cowboys gathered at the Alvin “Al” Cabral Rodeo Arena for two days of the Hawaii Keiki Rodeo finals. The competitors were divided into age groups of four and under, five to eight, nine to 13 and 14 to 18, across 11 different events.
Keiki rodeo events are designed for rodeo athletes as young as two years of age. You don’t see events like bull riding, bronco busting or steer wrestling at the keiki rodeo — instead events like dummy roping, goat undecorating and sheep riding are the draw for enthusiastic spectators.
The rodeo kicked off with “poles” — a timed event where the athletes ride horses while weaving down and back through a course of four-to-six poles 21 feet apart. The younger riders were in it for the experience and the fun of competing, while the older group athletes were after fast times and belt buckles.
The younger athletes got some assistance making it through the poles course. In the four-and-under age group Eva Lilly Jose, Blaze Alapai and Treylie Ann Samson were the top finishers. The five-to-eight age group saw Makoa Pascual, Dusty Gorloff and Koa Luta finish in the top three.
The five to eight age group also had an unassisted option, and Colton Gomes took first, followed by Tiarelia Gomes in second and Ryder Alapai taking third. In the nine- to-13 age group, Chance Fergerstrom took first with Naulu Drummondo second and Hina Lindsey third. The 14-to-18 age group was led by Kalena Kaiwi in first, Addie Flores second and Paisley Menino in third.
Dummy roping was a crowd favorite, which saw the rodeo arena crowded with youngsters sporting their finest western wear and wielding brightly-colored lassos. The goal was to be the fastest to lasso a stationary plastic calf dummy. The four-and-under age group saw Amelia VanZandnt, Lilly Jose and Kinzlih “Kiki” Ioane finish one, two and three, respectively. The five-to-eight-year-old ropers were led by Maximus Parks, Kase Akiona and Uriah Smith.
In the breakaway event, riders were timed as they chased down and roped a calf and stopped their horses. When the calf pulled the rope free from the saddle pommel, the timer was stopped. The nine-to-13 age group saw Hilai Karratti finish first, Cheshire Aku second and Koko Monitbon third. In the 14-to-18 age group, Flores took first with Kalani Peleiholanil-Langan second and Meera Schuett-Iwamura third.
Team roping required two rodeo athletes to lasso a calf together, with the first rider or “header” responsible for roping the calf’s head and the “heeler” responsible for lassoing the rear feet. The fastest team on the day was Chance Fegerstrom at header and Levi Wood as heeler, Karratti as header and Maddie Parks heeler in second, and Breanna Gomes as header and Fergerstrom heeler in third.
The paper caught up with Fergerstrom in between events to talk about the Hawaii Keiki Rodeo experience. Fergerstrom said his favorite part of Hawaii Keiki Rodeo is, “when me and my friends come together to compete.” Fergerstrom competes in most keiki rodeo events for his age, but prefers anything to do with roping. When not competing on the keiki rodeo circuit, Fergerstrom partners with father Bully to compete in other roping competitions.
The final event of day one was ribbon mugging. A team event that featured a roper on a horse who lassoed a calf. Once the calf was lassoed, the mugger ran in to remove a ribbon attached to the base of the calf’s tail while the rider dismounted to remove the lasso. With ribbon and lasso in hand, the team ran to the designated barrel to stop the timer. The top ribbon muggers last weekend were Kawelo Castro and Billye Puhi in first, Menino and Blayne DeMattos in second and Flores and Owen Flores in third.
Day 2 kicked off with goat undecorating and tying. The younger age groups did the undecorating, which involved running to the goat in the middle of the arena and removing a ribbon from the tail. In the four-and-under group, Rainbow Smith, Ioane and Daxtin-Lee Nobriga-Medeiros were the top-three finishers. The five-to-eight age group was led by Uriah Smith in first with Hayzden Miranda in second and Gorloff in third.
The older age groups participated in goat tying, which saw the athletes approach the goat on a horse, dismount, secure the goat and tie three of four legs together. In the boys nine-to-13 age group, Haloa John, Teagan Nachor Johansen and Fergerstrom were the top finishers. In the girls nine-to-13 age group, Puhi took first and Karratti was second. The girls 14-to-18 group had Menino finish first, Kekapa Castro in second and Lilyanna Caravalho take third.
The boys 9- to-13 and 14-to-18 age groups participated in the tie-down event, which involved roping a calf from a horse, dismounting, securing the calf and tying three of four legs together. The only finisher in the nine-to-13 age group was John, while the top three finishers in the 14-to-18 age group were Jeremiah Palakiko, DeMattos and Wood.
The calf-riding event was a crowd pleaser on Day 2, but unfortunately, none of the seven rodeo athletes competing in calf riding event were able to stay on for the minimum time to earn a score. Although short, the keiki gave it their best and had some exciting rides.
The sheep-riding event gave the younger competitors a chance to hold on to a farm animal and go for a wild ride. The athletes that stayed atop their sheep for the longest period of time won. There were a few impressive rides with Taha’i Perry taking first, Elle Marie Jose in second and Ezra Leialoha Hernandez third.
Barrel racing was one of the more popular events and saw a large number of competitors taking part. Riders attacked a course of three barrels arranged in a triangle in the arena. Riders circled each barrel and headed to the next until they completed the circle on the third barrel and dashed for the finish line.
The younger age groups got a little help making it through the barrels course, as parents or siblings helped lead the horses through the obstacles. In the four-and-under group, Lilly Jose, Blaze Alapai and Samson were the top finishers. In the five-to-eight age group, Pascual took first, Gorloff second and Luta third.
The barrel racing got real exciting once the older age groups got involved, as this was one of the most competitive events. The more experienced five-to-eight year olds were given a chance to barrel race without assistants, and Haylee De Luz took advantage of the opportunity and finished first followed by Ryder Alapai in second and Leialoha Hernandez in third.
The nine-to-13 age group barrel racers were led by Koko Montibon in first, Fergerstrom second and Gracie Almond third. The 14-to-18 age group riders saw Addie Flores take the top spot with Kaiwi and Menino rounding out the top three.
When asked what she liked most about rodeo, Flores, one of the top rodeo athletes on the Big Island said, “probably the adrenaline rush and the animals, and being around horses is very therapeutic to me.”
Flores, who is a sophomore in high school, expects to continue her rodeo career once she graduates and is interested in pursuing a career in equine dentistry.
With a history rich in paniolo culture, the Big Island is a great place to be involved in youth rodeo and the participants in the Hawaii Keiki Rodeo finals showed that to be true. Based on the number of athletes participating and the quality of the performances, it’s clear that the future of the paniolo and Hawaii rodeo is in good hands.
For more information about Hawaii Keiki Rodeo, follow them on Instagram at @hawaiikeikirodeo or email hikeikirodeo@gmail.com.
