PIERCE COLLEGE : Annual Rodeo Planned May 8, 9

Students from colleges throughout California and Nevada will take part in the 36th annual Pierce College Intercollegiate Rodeo on May 8 and 9 at Shepard Stadium on the Woodland Hills campus.

They will compete in bareback bronco riding, saddle bronco riding, bull riding, steer wrestling, team roping, calf roping and barrel racing events.

The rodeo begins at 8 p.m. both evenings. Tickets are on sale at the college’s business office at $7 for adults and $6 for students, senior citizens and children.

Tickets for the traditional barbecue at 3 p.m. on May 9 and the rodeo later the same evening cost $15.

The Lobo Rangers, a country-Western band, will entertain from noon to 6 p.m. on May 9.

This year’s rodeo will feature a pre-rodeo demonstration of working sheep dogs at 7 p.m. both evenings, said Ron Wechsler, associate professor of animal science and adviser to the Pierce rodeo team.

The demonstration will be put on by the Mutton Punchers, a group that will show how dogs herd sheep around obstacles and into facilities without vocal commands. The dogs are commanded only with hand signals and whistles, Wechsler said.

Pierce’s rodeo attracts more spectators than any rodeo at a college level in the United States, Wechsler said. More than 10,000 people attended last year’s rodeo.

The rodeo is the only fund-raising event for the college’s agriculture program. Profits go primarily to the equine teaching facility, Wechsler said.

Pierce’s rodeo is the ninth in a series of 10 intercollegiate rodeos held in California and Nevada.

The 10 rodeos determine which college rodeo teams qualify to compete in the West Coast Intercollegiate Rodeo Assn. regional finals in Ventura in June.