Deputies Shut Down Illegal Rodeo in Saugus

An illegal rodeo that reportedly included bullfighting was shut down by sheriff’s deputies who discovered it in Saugus while investigating a parking complaint, authorities said Monday.

About 200 participants and spectators were dispersed from a ranch in San Francisquito Canyon at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Sgt. David Stunson said. Deputies stumbled onto the rodeo, which had no county permit for a public assembly, while answering a report that so many cars were parked in the area that a driveway shared by other nearby ranches was partially blocked, he said.

County animal control officers were also called to the scene when deputies noticed that several horses and steers used during the rodeo competition appeared to be malnourished and hurt.

Mexican rodeo, or charreada , events had been staged on Sundays at the ranch in the 29300 block of San Francisquito Canyon Road for nearly a year, according to neighbors. But authorities said the Sheriff’s Department was unaware of the activity until deputies received the call Sunday.

Makeshift Arena

“Deputies got there and found an enormous number of people at the location,” Stunson said. “There was a makeshift arena with a makeshift grandstand.”

In addition to not having an assembly permit, the rodeo had improper emergency access and lacked fire protection equipment, Stunson said. There were inadequate restroom facilities, and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services will be asked to determine whether food and beverage preparation at the rodeo was sanitary, he added.

Stunson said Jose Aranda, who told deputies that he was in charge of the rodeo, was cited for the county code violations. The results of an animal cruelty investigation will be turned over to the district attorney’s office for possible filing of charges, Stunson said.

No animals were seized from the ranch Sunday, but deputies did confiscate a cape believed to have been used during bullfights. Animal Control Officer Stacy Ellingson said that many of the 15 horses and 14 steers at the ranch were dehydrated and that some had open wounds.

Treated at Scene

The animals were treated at the scene by a veterinarian. Animal control officers returned to the ranch Monday to examine and photograph the animals, and they are expected to monitor their care throughout the week, Ellingson said.

Aranda and Leonardo Lopez, interviewed last month by The Times for a story about the rodeos, said he built the ring a year ago. He could not be reached for comment Monday. Lopez heads an association of Mexican cowboys, or charros , that includes horsemen from the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and neighboring valleys.

Francisco Tirado, a hired hand at the ranch, said the animals were not mistreated. He acknowledged that there was a bullfight at the rodeo ring Sunday but said that no bull was slaughtered. Instead, matadors used capes to taunt the bull and display their bullfighting maneuvers, Tirado said.

Thomas Catlin, who lives across the street, said the weekly rodeos were accompanied by the sound of mariachi music, cheers and a public-address system. But Catlin said that he never considered it a problem and that on most Sundays the rodeo attracted no more than 50 or 60 people.

He and his family were out Sunday afternoon and did not come home until after the rodeo had apparently been shut down.

“We knew something was wrong,” Catlin said. “My wife couldn’t hear the mariachi music.”

Times Staff Writer Steve Padilla contributed to this report.