Hawaii Tribune-Herald Wahine mugging. Mutton busting. Rodeo clown JJ Harrison. Saddle up for 25th anniversary of Pana‘ewa Stampede Rodeo Hawaii Horse Owners will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Pana‘ewa Stampede Rodeo during President’s Day weekend at the Pana‘ewa Equestrian Center with an additional third day of roping, riding and edgeof your-saddle excitement for all ages. The rodeo starts at noon Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday and Monday. “We estimate about 8,000 people come through during our normal two-day event,” says rodeo secretary Nancy Cabral. “It’s just packed. We’ve added more bleachers this year and because it’s the silver anniversary, we figured we’d do the event over three days to try to accommodate the crowd we’ve been getting.” The rodeo will feature three uniquely Hawaiian competitions: the po‘o wai u, double mugging and wahine mugging. Also on the schedule are bull riding with cowboys, roping and keiki events such as sheep riding and dummy roping. The keiki events require prior registration for participation, but adults in the crowd can get in on the action this year with a new event: knocker ball soccer. “We’ve bought these thick plastic suits that cover you from neck to knee cap,” explains Cabral. “Two different teams will get into these suits and try to get a ball across the goal line… and there’s a bull in the arena with them. People go flying in the air.” All participants must be 18 or older and appear to be in “sane and sober” condition when signing the waiver. “Every year we do something special with the audience and the bulls,” Cabral says. “Last year it was ‘cowboy poker’ where the last paniolo with his or her hands on the table won $500. They had to play cards with a bull running in the arena.” There will also be food, crafts and live country music Sunday after the roping and riding is done, but the main attraction is the rodeo events themselves. And what makes Hawaii rodeos unique and draws spectators from all over the world, says Cabral, are the uniquely paniolo techniques. The “po‘o wai u” was a technique developed by the paniolo to capture free-ranging, wild cattle. By KATIE YOUNG YAMANAKA Special to the Tribune-Herald See RODEO Page 9
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