PO‘IPU — Kaua‘i All Girls Rodeo Association invites everyone’s support on March 10 when KAGRA opens its 25th year of rodeo at the CJM Country Stables located about a mile past Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i Resort and Spa.
“Our first rodeo is on March 10,” said Christine Castillo, the KAGRA secretary. “We will be hosting a food drive at the rodeo benefiting the Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank. KIFB executive director Kelvin Moniz will be there with a tent accepting donations from 9:15 a.m.”
According to KIFB, the most needed items include ramen, pasta, canned meats, rice, tomato sauce and paste, and more. For more information, visit www.kauaifoodbank.org.
“We will also have Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami in attendance along with the original KAGRA member of 1999,” Castillo said. “We will also have two food trucks available.”
There is no admission to view the KAGRA rodeo that starts with the grand entry at 9:30 a.m. Competitive rodeo events are scheduled to start at 10 a.m.
During the rodeo, competitors demonstrate their skill while competing in at least five events, including Barrel Racing, Goat Tying, Pole Bending, Team Roping and Breakaway Roping.
KAGRA, operating under the nonprofit status of the YMCA of Kaua‘i, started in 1999 with 11 women who had a vision of providing an opportunity for women to compete in the sport of rodeo.
Currently with more than 40 members ranging in age from grade school to grandmothers, many who are descendants of Kaua‘i’s first paniolo, or Hawaiian Cowboys, are proud to carry on their respective family’s ranching traditions.
In addition to the competitive rodeo events, KAGRA cowgirls donate time and energy to community service projects, including riding in mounted units at some of the island’s signature parades like the Koloa Plantation Days parade.
