Local tribal leaders and charro groups are pressing San Diego to put the brakes on a proposed citywide rodeo ban, arguing that city leaders have been duped by activists and need to comprehensively educate themselves.
While the ban would not apply to local tribes because their lands lie outside city limits, they are fighting it because they believe recently proposed bans in San Diego and Los Angeles could spread statewide quickly.
They say San Diego's ban threatens long-standing traditions because rodeo is a cultural practice with roots intertwined with black, indigenous and Mexican American communities for centuries.
“The City has not provided itself with accurate information to formulate a reasonable and fair policy, and we fear this will lead to our cultural history and heritage being ignored in San Diego,” the groups said in a joint letter to the city. “In the spirit of inclusion, we encourage the City Council and its staff to engage in dialogue and begin their own learning journey around our practices and values.”
Aides to Councilman Kent Lee, who proposed the ban last month, have agreed to hold a meeting Feb. 29 at City Hall with tribes and other members of the newly formed San Diego Rodeo Alliance, including Mexican American cowboys who are offering their own versions. Of rodeo.
Renn Richardson makes a steer during the San Diego Rodeo at Petco Park on Friday, January 12, 2024.
(Meg McLaughlin/San Diego Union-Tribune)
“We look forward to developing this ordinance, which will apply in the City of San Diego and does not impact tribal lands, with input from Indigenous communities and members of the public,” Lee’s chief of staff, Sarah Kamyab, said via email this week.
“I am confident that we can be sensitive to cultural traditions as we work to end needless animal suffering,” Kamyab said. “People are very concerned about the obvious harm being done to animals at these events, so something has to change.”
The Rodeo Alliance disagrees with the claim that animals are being harmed at any local events, saying there are no local groups that use electric poles, sharp spurs or other equipment or techniques criticized by animal rights groups.
“The problems these groups are raising are not things we see even in San Diego,” coalition president Jed Pugsley said, adding that activists are scaring people with videos from other states. “We want the opportunity to show council members what really happens at a rodeo in San Diego, not at a rodeo 5,000 miles away with people we don’t know.”
Sydney Jesperon and Samantha Prado protest the San Diego Rodeo at Petco Park on Friday, January 12, 2024.
(Meg McLaughlin/San Diego Union-Tribune)
Pugsley confirmed that no violations were found during the three-day rodeo at Petco Park in January — the event that led to the proposed ban in San Diego. Veterinarians were on site the entire time, he said.
Alliance members said they were pleased in December when the Los Angeles City Council sent the city's proposed ban to the commission for further evaluation.
“As Los Angeles has already done, it is time to go back to the drawing board, engage in dialogue with voters that actually impact, and ensure accurate representation of our cultural values,” the coalition said in its letter to the city.
While San Diego's ban would not immediately affect tribes outside the city, it threatens activities hosted by Charro groups within the city limits in San Ysidro.
Banning those events would be a big blow, said Ramon Jara, president of the Charo Alliance of San Diego.
“It's more than just a sport – it's a tradition, it's part of my heritage and culture,” he said. “It's really helped keep families together. It's helped preserve the traditions of horsemanship and animal care.”
In addition to the cowboy events, there are also equestrian events for girls called escaramosas, he said.
“You can see your father and brothers on top of the horse with your daughter and nieces,” he said. “It's just a great family atmosphere.”
Shareria performed at the San Diego Rodeo at Petco Park in January.
(San Diego Rodeo Alliance)
It's a long tradition for local reservations to have places for wild horses and ranching cattle — animals that are part of the rodeo, said John Christman, tribal chairman of the Vegas Band of Kumeyaay Indians.
“We still raise cattle here, and we have a number of families who raise cattle,” he said. “It's still part of the culture, and I hope it always will be.”
Last fall, rodeo critics lobbied the City Council to approve an ordinance banning the use of animal torture devices during rodeos. But Lee's ordinance would go beyond that to ban rodeos regardless of the equipment used.
Leaders of the San Diego Rodeo Alliance said they would be open to a city ban on devices like prods and prods, saying no local groups ever use the devices.
“We know sometimes other people participate with electric batons,” said John Shockey, an alliance member and rodeo promoter. “It has nothing to do with ourselves, it has to do with our level of animal athletes and human athletes.”
Lee said last month that he plans to introduce the proposed rodeo ban at the next meeting of the council's Land Use and Housing Committee.
“Entertainment is no excuse for cruelty to animals,” he told me at the time. “This bill will ensure that no more animals are subjected to needless suffering under the guise of entertainment in San Diego.”
In addition to pushing for a citywide ban, animal rights groups sued the city in November alleging that the rodeo involves shocking horses in ways that violate state law.
Superior Court Judge Joel Woelfel has scheduled a hearing for March 22 on the lawsuit, which was filed by a group called Showing Respect and Kindness to Animals.
