Gas prices reining in rodeo cowboys
Trucks used to haul rodeo equipment are parked outside the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo on Friday. Soaring gas prices cut the number of competitors by about 20%, officials said, with fewer cowboys able to spend the thousands of dollars needed to haul horses and gear from one arena to the next. (Richard Hartog/Los Angeles Times)
Cowboys work their lassos during the calf-roping competition in Santa Maria. Many cowpokes are rodeo ride-sharing, with half a dozen cramming into a truck and splitting fuel bills. (Richard Hartog/Los Angeles Times)
Courtney Burton, 19, of Chowchilla, Calif., pets her quarter horse, Kat. Burton’s boyfriend, Stan Branco, earns extra money shoeing horses, which he uses to help pay for gas. (Richard Hartog/Los Angeles Times)
Rodeo fans make their way through the bleachers. Crowds are packing the grandstands, perhaps because gas prices are keeping them close to home, rodeo operators say. (Richard Hartog/Los Angeles Times)
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An audience gathers for the bull-riding competition. Some rodeos that span several days are adopting more compact schedules that dont require cowboys to make fuel-consuming return trips for later events, and a few are even waiving entry fees typically from $150 to $500 for the competitors. (Richard Hartog/Los Angeles Times)
Rodeo fans have lots of room to spread out as the sun sets behind them. “The sport’s doing fine, said a spokesman for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Assn. “It’s just getting tougher and tougher for guys to get up and down the road.” (Richard Hartog/Los Angeles Times)
