The Red Bluff Round-Up is a western experience – a rodeo, that hearkens back to the American cowboy, and the settlement of the West.
In Red Bluff, it’s a 95 year-old tradition, with more than 30,000 people cheering from the stands as cowboys wrestle, ride, and rope their way to gold buckles and prize checks.
Cowboys match up against bucking broncs and bulls, and practice skills used on ranches across the country 100 years ago, and still today.
Every year at the Red Bluff Round-Up, there’s a family reunion going on.
Since 1992, the Schilling family: Donna and her daughter Mariah, her mother, Linda, and sometimes her sons Zachary Siner and Joshua Siner and now her grandkids, have made the Round-Up their gathering point for the family.
Donna Schilling (center) and her family have been faithful Red Bluff Round-Up fans since 1992. Donna’s mother Linda Austin (left) and Donna’s son Zachary Siner and grandson Luke Siner pose at the 2015 Red Bluff Round-Up. Photo courtesy of Donna Schilling.
It’s a tradition that started when Donna’s daughter Mariah was 3 months old. At the time, Donna, just divorced, was living in Corning with Mariah and heard all her neighbors talking about the Round-Up, but she had never been to a rodeo.
“It was new to us, and we thought, ‘hey, let’s go check it out,’ ” she said. “I had such a good time that it ended up being an every-year thing.”
The second week of April was a convenient time for everyone to meet. Donna and one son are employed in the hospitality industry, and the other son is a chef at an airport restaurant, so they rarely have time off during holidays for get-togethers.
In April, there’s usually no problem getting days off. “It’s easier for us to get together because holidays in airports and casinos are all blacked out as their busiest time. We make this our family get together.”
The family comes to the Sunday afternoon performance, which is Cancer Awareness and Tough Enough to Wear Pink day, all wearing pink.
“I drive them crazy,” Donna laughed, “because I go out and buy them all matching pink shirts. They say, ‘Really, Mom?’ and I say, ‘Really, yes, because it’s pink day.’ ”
Now the next generation is joining in the fun. Mariah’s son has been to the Round-Up two of the three years of his life. For Donna’s newest grandbaby, a girl seven months old, this will be her first. Four of her five grandbabies will be there this year, and Donna will have matching pink shirts for them as well.
Her favorite part of the Round-Up is the Wild Ride, with the saddle bronc riders riding while wearing costumes.
“I love to see what kinds of costumes they come up with.”
She takes plenty of Round-Up pictures. “I always end up taking so many pictures, my battery’s almost dead, and I have to save it for the Wild Ride.”
Since 1992, Donna has only missed the Round-Up once. She had moved to New Orleans and started a new job and didn’t have time off to come back to California. But that won’t happen again. She’s moved back to Corning to care for her mom.
And on Sunday, April 17, Donna, her mom and her kids and grandkids will be in the grandstands, in pink, enjoying the Round-Up.
But it’s so much more than rodeo. Visitors in Red Bluff will enjoy a parade on April 16; a concert by country music group Exile on April 16; a Cowboy Poetry reading on April 13; Cowboy Pizza and Wine Release on April 8; Cowboy Coffee on April 7, and so much more!
The Red Bluff Round-Up is April 15-17. Performances start at 7 p.m. on April 15; 2:30 p.m. on April 16, and at 1:30 p.m. on April 17. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit RedBluffRoundup.com or find the event on Facebook and Twitter.
Rodeo action takes place in the arena at the Tehama District Fairgrounds; as the rodeo competition happens, horse races and a wild pony race also take place.
For a complete schedule, and to buy tickets, visit the website at RedBluffRoundup.com.
Note: A News Cafe.com readers, we have some complimentary tickets just for you. The tickets are for 7 p.m. Fri., April 15, and 1:30, Sun. April 17. Interested? Let me know asap in the comments section below how many tickets (up to six) you’d like, and then send me your address via email at donig.anewscafe@gmailcom so I can get them in the mail to you asap. First come, first served! Good luck!
