Save the rodeo! Valley family giving new life to Coarsegold’s historic venue. Stroll around
When Ryan and Melissa Steward purchased the historic Coarsegold Rodeo Grounds recently, rumors in this tiny eastern Madera County foothills community started flying.
“One person thought we were these big developers from out of town who were going to get rid of the rodeo and build a 13-story hotel on the property,” Melissa Steward said with a chuckle. “But the truth is: We are just a little family down in (the nearby community of) O’Neals who want to save the rodeo.”
For the record, the Stewards are Valley born, Valley bred. He is vice-president of Custom Ag Formulators, a farm chemical company based in Fresno, and she is an entrepreneur who has owned and operated several businesses, including an antique store and clothing boutique. They are also parents with two boys.
And the last thing they want to do is shut down a 74-year tradition of watching snorting bulls and bucking broncs kicking up dust and tossing cowboys.
“This is part of our community,” Ryan Steward said. “I can remember watching rodeos here when I was in high school.”
40 acres in foothills north of Fresno
Taking up nearly 40 acres, the rodeo grounds sit tucked away in the foothills off of Road 415. It’s about a 40-minute drive on Highway 41 from central Fresno.
Held the first weekend in May, the two-day Coarsegold rodeo draws up to 3,000 people a year with professional riders, food, music and rodeo queens. The rodeo events are organized by the Coarsegold Stampede, a non-profit group, and will include bull riding, bronc busting, bareback riding, calf roping, steer wrestling and barrel racing.
“We’re excited to see some revitalization of the rodeo grounds under new ownership,” said Kelly Anderson, Vice President of the Coarsegold Stampede. “The Stewards share our vision for keeping the nostalgic feel of this place while making it more comfortable and functional. This will ensure the grounds remain the heart of our community for years to come.”
Operated at its current site for 51 years, the grounds themselves are well worn, just like an old cowboys boots.
The Stewards plan on pumping $500,000 into the property including building a 5,000-square-foot barn for vendors during the rodeo. It can also be used for weddings or other events. Two homes on the property will also be spruced up. One of the homes is a vintage mobile home with a rustic porch that will updated and used as a bridal suite.
The other ranch-style home will get a deck that oversees the rodeo grounds and will be used for VIP seating.
Also due for improvements is a horse stable, dubbed Mare Manor; its 17 stalls will be open year-round for boarding. The property has a conditional use permit allowing for RV parking that the Stewards may also add.
“We don’t always realize it, but people travel with their horses sometimes,” Melissa Steward said. “And we want to be able to provide a place for that.”
Rodeo in a country setting
With the next rodeo six months away, the Stewards have been busy cutting down weeds, fixing what’s broken and cleaning what’s dirty. But they are also careful not to scrub too hard. They appreciate the patina of rusty metal and the weathered barn wood.
At the entrance to the rodeo grounds is a ticket booth whose loose boards have been stuffed with acorns by the local critters. On a recent afternoon at the rodeo grounds with his parents, son Kaleb pulled at one of the loose boards, releasing a flood of acorns, like he hit a jackpot on a slot machine.
Looking up at the aging announcer’s booth, Ryan Steward plans to expand that space and possibly add some additional seating.
Unlike larger venues, like Clovis Rodeo that have aluminum or steel bleachers, Coarsegold’s seating is a little more countryfied. The benches are made of thick slabs of weathered pine hammered into wooden stumps.
Ryan Steward would like to try and restore the benches, but several of them are in bad shape and will likely be replaced.
In the rodeo’s early days, families would bring their own lawn chairs and blankets and spread out on the grass.
Like a main street from the Old West
Tom Bohna, whose father, Henry, moved the rodeo to its current location in 1973, knows the rodeo business inside and out. The 70-year-old Bohna is a former rodeo rider with 15 years experience competing in riding saddle broncs, bareback broncs and steer wrestling.
Bohna jokes that somehow he never got seriously injured, even while jumping off a horse in full gallop to wrestle a 300-pound steer to the ground.
“My wife would say that I must have angels in my hip pocket,” he said.
Bohna says he built many of the small buildings on the rodeo grounds that were made to look like a main street from the Old West.
“I had a lot of help from the community,” he said.
“And that is what is special about the Coarsegold Rodeo: It’s part of our tradition and history. It is the biggest thing we have out here.”
He’s pleased to hear the Stewards plan to give the property some much needed attention, like he did many years ago.
“It takes a tremendous amount of ambition and love to keep everything going. It really is a life commitment,” Bohna said.
Melissa Steward says she understands what the rodeo means to the community and she doesn’t plan on letting down anyone.
“This is part of the history of the community, and that is important to me,” she said. “As an entrepreneur, I saw the potential of this place and it felt like it had been forgotten about. I want to bring it to its full potential.”
