Old Spanish Days and Earl Warren Fairgrounds Announce Separate Rodeo Events during Fiesta Weekend
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Old Spanish Days and Earl Warren Showgrounds will host separate rodeos in August, two months after announcing they would not jointly present the Fiesta Stock Horse Show & Rodeo this year.
On Tuesday, Earl Warren Showgrounds announced it will host Santa Barbara Rodeo Days from Friday, Aug. 1 to Sunday, Aug. 3. The venue says the event is “continuing the legacy of the Vaquero spirit for the Santa Barbara community” with Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) rodeo performances, a free Fiesta-themed carnival, a vibrant mercado, food, and entertainment.
Ben Sprague, CEO of Earl Warren Showgrounds, said community support played a major role in the decision to revive a rodeo event during Fiesta week.
“There was such an outpouring of community support for having a rodeo that we, the board and the staff, felt it was really important to do our best to try and take on a rodeo,” said Sprague. “We worked diligently to have a professional rodeo come to Earl Warren during those dates.”
Shortly after the Showgrounds’ announcement, Old Spanish Days (OSD) held a press conference to reveal the 2025 Fiesta schedule, which includes their own rodeo.
OSD will host the Old Spanish Days Rodeo at the Santa Ynez Valley Equestrian Center on the same weekend — Friday, Aug. 1 to Sunday, Aug. 3. The event will be free to attend, with a special ticketed barbecue on Aug. 2.
“We are happy to welcome the equestrian traditions of Old Spanish Days and Fiesta to Santa Ynez Valley,” said Nancy Hunsicker, board member of the Santa Ynez Valley Equestrian Association.
El Presidente Fritz Olenberger said he doesn’t view Santa Barbara Rodeo Days as a competing event.
“We don’t see it as competing. They’ll have the PRCA. I don’t think there’s… it’s going to be a family event [ours]. It won’t have… locals. Ours is more family-oriented and it will have local participation. It’s going to have mutton bustin’. I don’t think they’re going to have mutton bustin’.”
Sprague later clarified that Santa Barbara Rodeo Days will in fact include mutton bustin’ alongside traditional rodeo events, plus a carnival.
Earl Warren Showgrounds hosted the Fiesta Stock Horse Show & Rodeo for 67 years. The event originally began in 1924 at Pershing Park and moved to the newly constructed Showgrounds in 1958, where it incorporated a professional rodeo format.
Sprague said he initially tried to collaborate with Old Spanish Days on reviving the rodeo at the Showgrounds.
“We actually approached them to do this with us and then they decided not to do that. We then decided to continue on our own,” he said, adding that he doesn’t view OSD’s rodeo as competition.
“No, I mean the more rodeos the better,” said Sprague. “I think if we’ve learned anything from this, it’s that the community wants rodeos — and we’re happy about that.”
In an April joint statement, organizers of the Fiesta Stock Horse Show & Rodeo said the event’s cancellation was “due to increasing operational and production challenges” that made them “unable to sustain this historical Santa Barbara event for the future.” At the time, OSD said it was working to ensure the rodeo returns and remains a part of Fiesta.
Olenberger also mentioned that The Downtown Club, formerly associated with the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara, is working on plans for a carnival on its Canon Perdido Street property.
“They’re in the final stage of that, so that’s looking very favorable,” said Olenberger, who clarified the carnival would not be an official Old Spanish Days event.
Other Old Spanish Days events in this year’s lineup include Fiesta Ranchera at the Goleta Stow House on Thursday, June 19, and La Recepción del Presidente on Sunday, July 27.
Old Spanish Days officially kicks off on Wednesday, July 30, with Fiesta Pequeña at the Old Mission Santa Barbara. The event will be broadcast by KEYT, along with the Historical Parade on Friday, which begins at noon.
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