While the seasoned competitors will certainly get their share of the limelight at this year\u2019s Ramona Rodeo, several youngsters are also looking forward to showcasing their skills.<\/p>\n
Opening today (Thursday) and continuing through Saturday, this year\u2019s rodeo will feature barrel racing, mutton bustin\u2019, team penning, bareback riding, breakaway roping, bull riding, team penning, saddle bronc riding and tie-down roping.<\/p>\n
The younger set will be able to participate in mutton bustin\u2019 and barrel racing, two competitions that require very different skill sets.<\/p>\n
Mutton bustin\u2019 is a matter of hanging on. Whoever stays on their sheep the longest wins.<\/p>\n
The competition is limited to youngsters ages 4 to 7 who weigh 55 pounds or less.<\/p>\n
There are eight participants per rodeo performance, chosen from applications submitted in June.<\/p>\n
Although he is only 4, Hudson \u201cHuddy\u201d Ennis, the son of Tyler and Taylor Ennis, is totally focused on the upcoming mutton bustin\u2019 event.<\/p>\n
He has ridden a dog before, but it will be Huddy\u2019s first time riding a sheep.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s ready for it, according to his parents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe go to the rodeo every year, and our friend\u2019s son did the mutton bustin\u2019 a few years ago, and Huddy\u2019s been wanting to do it,\u201d Taylor Ennis said. \u201cIt\u2019s so just so cute and it will be really fun this year to watch Huddy because he\u2019s so excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the way to the mutton bustin\u2019 check-in last Sunday, Huddy said his goal is to \u201cride fast and not fall off.\u201d<\/p>\n
His favorite part of the rodeo each year is \u201cnight time, when we ride the sheep,\u201d and his favorite part this year, so far, is \u201csigning up to ride the sheep,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"Hudson](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/RAS-L-Rodeo-1.jpg\")
Hudson \u201cHuddy\u201d Ennis, 4, front right, is looking forward to his first mutton bustin\u2019 ride at this year\u2019s Ramona Rodeo. Huddy will be cheered on by his parents, Taylor and Tyler Ennis, and his sister, Emery, 6. (Courtesy of Tyler Ennis)<\/p>\n
Huddy will be cheered on by his parents; his sister, Emery, 6; their friends and \u201call the Pinkerton family,\u201d Tyler Ennis said.<\/p>\n
The junior barrel racers also have to qualify to enter the event each year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, the girls are very excited for the event; they all really, really enjoy the Ramona Rodeo \u2014 it\u2019s a neat, neat rodeo and it hits differently,\u201d said Rebecca Hatch Arnold, who headed the qualifier event.<\/p>\n
She said youngsters come from all over San Diego, Orange and Riverside counties to compete at Ramona, partly because the grounds and arena set the competitors \u201cup for success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Overall, she described the racers as \u201cvery community-based; they take the lead and like to give back to the community, which is awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charlee Gibbs, 12, is one of the Ramona residents who qualified for barrel racing. She is the daughter of Jake and Kendal Gibbs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been barrel racing since I was 4 or 5,\u201d Charlee said. \u201cI like all of it. It\u2019s really fun and makes me happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said her family has been going to the Ramona Rodeo as long as she\u2019s been riding and \u201cI always thought it would be fun to be in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although she tried out last year and didn\u2019t qualify, Charlee was successful this time around. She will be competing with her bay quarter horse, David Lee, whom she described as \u201cpowerful and really fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
With this week\u2019s temperatures soaring above 100 degrees, and school starting \u2014 Charlee just entered the seventh grade \u2014 she\u2019s given her horse a couple of days off. But Charlee said she planned to ride him in the evening to prepare for the event.<\/p>\n
Charlee\u2019s run will be cheered on by her parents and a slew of grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, friends and classmates.<\/p>\n
Her overall goal is \u201cjust to have fun,\u201d she said. \u201cI also want to meet and compete with some of the professional rodeo competitors I follow on social media.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a part of this year\u2019s event, Arnold said barrel racer Jamie Harris, who won the Woman\u2019s professional barrels last year at Ramona, will be leading her daughter, Georgina, 4, on her pony through the barrel pattern this year on Thursday and Saturday nights.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Jamie to win last year and bring her daughter back to the same event to ride her pony is really special, and will be fun for the spectators to see,\u201d Arnold said.<\/p>\n
Want to go?<\/p>\n
Ramona Rodeo<\/p>\n
When: Thursday, Aug. 27 to Saturday, Aug. 29 \u2013 times vary per day based on events.<\/p>\n
Where: Fred Grand Arena in the Outdoor Community Center, 421 Aqua Lane.<\/p>\n
Tickets: Adult general admission tickets are $22.97 to $28.13, with a kids general admission ticket offered for those 6 and younger on Thursday for $7.52. There are also preferred and VIP options.<\/p>\n