For the first time in a decade, Cebu will be holding a national rodeo competition. Billed as the “1st Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri Cup National Rodeo”, the Cebu Equine Owners, Breeders and Sportsmen Association (CEOBSA)-organized event will be held on May 2-3 at the Mandaue reclamation area.
The event is among the highlights of the annual fiesta of Mandaue City in honor of its beloved patron St. Joseph the Worker.
So far, a total of 14 teams from all over the country led by host Cebu have already confirmed their paricipation in the two-day tilt.
These are the University of the Philippines (UP) Los Baños, De La Salle University of Manila, Ormoc, Southern Leyte, Masbate, Bohol, Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro, Malaybalay, Impasug-ong, and the Zubiri Brothers or the Zubros.
Several events will be featured in the competition. For the non-cattle event, there will be tug-of-war, a seven-man play, load carrying, and wood chopping, one-man play.
For the cattle events, there will be bull riding, lassoing on foot, lassoing on horseback, team roping, carambola and casting down.
In the horse events, which is exclusive for the members of Philippine Horsemen’s Federation, there will be ribbon taking and barrel race.
The team that has the most number of wins in all events will be declared as the overall champion.
Since there are no cattles in Cebu that can be used for the contest, the organizers are transporting cattles from Ubay, Bohol and Bukidnon. The Impasug-ong arena will also be shipped in Cebu for the competition.
In a press conference yesterday at the Mandaue city hall, CEOBSA president Anton Quisumbing said the purpose of the event is to generate new type of livelihood among the Cebuanos and promote agri-tourism and sports.
Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, for his part, has expressed his full support to the landmark rodeo showdown in the Queen City of the South.