A Real Rodeo on the Rancho

Jay Miller admitted the surf culture was more his scene. But ever since he stared down a crowd of bulls and ran for his life inside an arena in Costa Rica, he has been intrigued by the rodeo scene.

And so on Sunday afternoon, Miller and his girlfriend wandered out to Oaks Blenheim Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park at Ortega Highway and Antonio Parkway to see how real cowboys ride.

“This is a little different format than the running of the bulls,” said Miller of Costa Mesa. “But it’s nice to see you can get this kind of lifestyle in Southern California.”

About 4,000 rodeo fans came to enjoy the competition, kids’ day activities and barbecue at the first professional Rancho Mission Viejo Rodeo. The event, the first of any kind that the agricultural and real estate company has held in five years, offered $100,000 in prize money, making it the sixth richest of 60 annual professional rodeos held in the state.

Over two days, rodeo officials said the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Assn. event attracted more than 7,000 fans to Rancho Mission Viejo.

“We exceeded our anticipated crowds by quite a bit,” said Ann-Marie Moiso, director of marketing for Rancho Mission Viejo. “The attendance has proven to us that this rodeo will just get bigger and bigger every year.”

But there were some animal rights activists who wished the rodeo had never returned to southern Orange County. About 15 people, most of them affiliated with Orange County People for Animals, carried signs and jeered those who were entering the rodeo grounds.

“Just because rodeos are traditions doesn’t mean we need to keep them going,” said Veda Stram, who carried a sign proclaiming “Rodeos Are Animal Abuse.”

“I think people are fascinated with the Old West,” Stram said, “but it’s become a spectacle, and it’s just about money.”

Three-year-old Spencer Blair, wearing shiny, brown cowboy boots and a big smile, didn’t seem interested in the animal rights demonstration. “He wants to be a cowboy, and he really loves horses,” said his mother, Jenna, a San Juan Capistrano resident.

The city of San Juan Capistrano has considered annexing the rolling hills and ranchland where the riding club sits so it can protect the area from development. The ranch sprawls over 25,000 acres, but the city is interested in annexing only a small part.

Ed Connor, a longtime San Juan resident who brought his wife and his four water-polo playing boys to the rodeo, thinks that is a great idea.

“This is a perfect little patch of greenbelt,” he said. “It’s a fitting introduction to our city, and it should be preserved for the type of activities we have here today.”

Proceeds from the event will benefit a group called the Cow Camp Caridades, which serves the Boys and Girls Club and the Preservation Foundation for Mission San Juan Capistrano. The Caridades evolved from the tradition of “passing the hat” in support of a sick child or needy friend.

Events included saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling and roping.