RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA : Greenhorns Kick Off Rodeo Fiesta

It was a cattle drive straight out of a Western. The only thing missing was the movie camera.

In a real-life version of the film “City Slickers,” the greenhorns nearly outnumbered the steers on Thursday as cattle were herded to the site of this weekend’s Rancho Santa Margarita Fiesta Rodeo.

There were 20 would-be cowpokes--local Rotarians, computer engineers and general contractors--to watch 60 head of cattle. And five real ranch hands to shepherd the would-be cowpokes.

It wasn’t enough.

“We had one guy fall into a ditch with his horse upside down this morning,” said Harley May, trail boss and three-time rodeo champion. “I’m not sure some of these guys know how to ride a horse.”

The invitation-only event kicked off South County’s fourth annual homage to the cowboy, the Rancho Santa Margarita Fiesta Rodeo, which starts today and runs through Sunday at Santa Margarita Parkway and Alma Aldea.

A full array of rodeo events will be on display during the weekend fiesta: bull and bareback riding, barrel racing, saddle-bronc riding, team roping and steer wrestling.

At stake will be $20,000 in prize money that will be sought by some of the top rodeo cowboys in the country.

“I’d say this is one of the top 20 rodeos in California,” said May, who works as a ranch consultant at the 40,000-acre Rancho Mission Viejo. “The competition gets real intense.

“Rodeo is a true Western sport, it goes back a lot further than baseball,” he continued. “And it’s a good spectator sport because I think everybody down deep would like to ride a bucking bronco.”

Some events will be free, including the team roping competition, which starts at 9 a.m. Saturday.

There will be a charge for other fiesta programs, including the Western rodeo dance, which is $5 and takes place at 7 p.m. Saturday, and an event for children, which is $3 and takes place at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Non-rodeo highlights include a carnival with rides, arts and crafts booths, food and a chili cook-off set for 10 a.m. Sunday.

Tickets are available at Ticketmaster. For more information, call (714) 589-4272.