City of Brawley

Cattle Call

The City of Brawley is home each November to one of the finest western rodeo celebrations in the United States. The Cattle Call Rodeo attracts an estimated 200,000 fans to the Brawley community to enjoy the many special events the Cattle Call Rodeo has to offer.

Features of the Cattle Call Rodeo

Visitors will enjoy an old fashion, fast action rodeo sure to please people of all ages! The Cattle Call Rodeo starts each performance with an opening ceremony followed by the crowd pleasing Mutton Busting and the Rough and Tough Wild Horse Race. There will be six PRCA events that include Bareback Riding, Saddle Bronc Riding, Steer Wrestling, Tie Down, Team Roping and Bull Riding. WPRA will feature the always exciting Barrel Race and then onto to Team Penning which features five teams of local cowboys and cowgirls competing for the fastest time penning three steers.  No rodeo would be complete without our fantastic clowns! You’ll also enjoy some fantastic music while you’re here and then there’s the food! You’ll find an enormous amount of food choices from corn dogs to some of the best deep pit barbecue you’ll ever taste along with Kettle Corn and homemade ice cream to water, soda and our ever popular Beer Garden.

Cattle Call History

It all began in a high school football field many years ago…

In 1957 the Brawley Chamber of Commerce realized that Brawley did not have an annual event like many neighboring valley towns. It was decided to host a celebration in Brawley saluting the cattle industry and the first parade and rodeo was born. A contest was held to propose a name for this new event and the winner was Mrs. Rex Hudson who submitted the name “Cattle Call”. The rodeo, held on the Brawley High School Football field in 1957, was a far cry from the successful and professional event it is today. After the first year, Louise Willey, Ed Rutherford, Al Smith and Dick Smith met at the Planters Hotel and decided to build a permanent rodeo arena. The location chosen was the brush filled river bottom owned by the City of Brawley and inhabited  only by rattlesnakes, rabbits, coyotes and skunks. Louise, Ed, Al and Dick who became known as the Arena Committee, made personal donations to the building fund and solicited cash donations from others in the community. Local companies donated much of the equipment, materials and labor needed to build the first arena and local service clubs made donations to the building fund.

The Cattle Call Arena has been improved and expanded many times through an agreement between the City of Brawley and the Rodeo Committee to use net proceeds from the rodeo for improvements and maintenance. In addition, the arena has benefited from the generous support of service groups and local companies who donate to improvement projects. This long term partnership between the City of Brawley, the Rodeo Committee and the community has been instrumental in the success of the Cattle Call Rodeo and has given its citizens a park and arena they can be proud of.

Event schedules are available at http://www.brawleychamber.com and www.cattlecallrodeo.com