Twenty participants from Fresno, Madera, Exeter, Hanford, Kingsburg, Selma, Tulare, and Visalia climbed into the saddles of their motorcycles on October 18 to face each other down in a contest of riding skill.

It was Bret Miller’s second annual Central California Police Motorcycle Competition: the Motorcycle Rodeo, sponsored by Independent Towing, Harley-Davidson, 99.7 Classic Rock, and Holiday Inn.

These cowboys were judged on their speed and accuracy riding a 600-cone course. Each rider had four chances to get through the course with the best time. Riders used their skill to avoid time penalties such as hitting a cone, putting a food down, deviating from the course, or letting the bike drop to the ground—the most damaging penalty, disqualifying the rider and awarding them with a score of zero.

Not all of the best times were the fastest, either. In the slow ride competition, riders compete to ride the course as slow as they can without putting a foot down or dropping the bike.

Other competitions were in Harley Novice, Harley Expert, Metric Novice, Metric Expert and Best Overall categories.

The top performers for the competition were for:
• Harley Novice: Brent Cederquist at a time of 2:05
• Harley Expert: Shawn Cardoza at a time of 2:04
• Metric Novice: Alfred Fuentes at a time of 2:19:28
• Metric Expert: Ritchie O’dell at a time of 1:57
• Best Overall (obstacle and slow ride course) was Shawn Cardoza.

The event was a lot of fun for all who participated and next year’s Motorcycle Rodeo is already scheduled for October 9 and 10, so mark your calendars now and rev up your engines.