Nothing is going to rain on Gary Williams’ parade.
Williams, the general manager for La Fiesta de los Vaqueros, is ready to saddle up for the 92nd edition of the event. Saturday marks the first of nine days of competition — projected showers be damned.
“We’ve taken a number of calls wanting to know if the rodeo is going to go on,” Williams said. “At what point we’d consider canceling the rodeo? My response to that, and it just came to me when I was talking to this lady — ‘Ma’am, we’ll cancel the rodeo when you see a very old gentleman with a white beard building a boat.’”
Who knows if the biblical Noah was a saddle bronc rider or a steer wrestler, but either way, the show will go on.
How that affects the athletes — both human and animal — remains to be seen.
The rodeo livestock began arriving this week. As of Friday afternoon, the dirt was still dry.
Saturday could present a different scenario, though.
Picture cud and mud and … you don’t want to know.
But it’s not like the rodeo committee, made up of a legion of volunteers, is new at this. Back in 1998, Williams said, they got 6 inches of rain by Saturday.
“On Sunday, we just shoved all the mud up against the grandstand,” Williams said. “But I’ll tell you, it didn’t slow the livestock. Same year, broke the mark in all three riding events.”
Records could be up for grabs this year, as well, with the deepest pool of contestants in years. Trevor Brazile, the 23-time world champion, is back in Tucson for the first time in a half-decade.
Brazile and some of the world’s other top rodeo competitors had hoped to pull double-duty last year with the creation of the Elite Rodeo Association, a small circuit featuring only the top champions in the sport. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association then modified its bylaws to prevent athletes from participating in both organizations.
As a result, many of those who would’ve qualified for the San Antonio or San Angelo rodeos in Texas did not, and will take their talents to Tucson instead.
“You don’t focus on who’s not here, you focus on who’s here — and what we saw last year, with those guys being gone, it gave some opportunities to young and up-and-coming guys to show their talent,” Williams said. “That might have been the best (National Finals Rodeo) we’ve had in 20 years; everything went down to the wire.”
The increased competition is sure to only enhance what has become a Tucson institution.
There are no drastic changes planned for this year’s event, though the Vaquero Club has been moved to a more permanent facility, with improvements in food and concessions. Ticket sales for the club have increased by 30 percent over last year, which already was a record-breaking year for sales, Williams said.
“People who want that experience are willing to pay the higher price,” he said. “We say we’re in the rodeo business, but that doesn’t merely cover it. We’re really in the entertainment business. People want a good time, we have to make sure we show them a good time.
“Most of the ticket buyers are not rodeo fans — we have to explain it as they’re seeing it. Everyone knows what’s going on in a football game. Rodeo, they don’t, and you know what? Some don’t care. They get to be a cowboy for a week. That’s a pretty endearing symbol, and has been for over 100 years. That’s one thing we have that nothing else has. Not everyone wanted to be a professional golfer. But at some point, just about everybody wanted to be a cowboy.”
