SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Petco Park will host three days of bucking broncos, lasso tricks and country music as the San Diego Rodeo returns Friday, but concerns about animal welfare will once again be prominently featured outside the ballpark's gates.
Scheduled from Friday through Sunday, the third annual event will begin Friday evening at 6 p.m. and guests can drink $5 brews at the Beerfest both Friday and Saturday and see a drone show after Friday's festivities. Charley Crockett will perform in Gallagher Square.
Saturday is already sold out, with Jamey Johnson performing, and Sunday will feature Kidsfest and a concert by Cody Jinks.
"We are grateful to all our sponsors and attendees for their support of the 2026 San Diego Rodeo and look forward to another successful event at Petco Park for a third consecutive year," read a statement from C5, the company organizing the rodeo.
But all is not a happy Western ending for the event, with thousands of unsold tickets and multiple groups protesting or challenging the rodeo in court on the basis of animal cruelty.
For the first time in the event's short history, the San Diego Tourism Marketing District did give the event around $150,000. Sponsors, including Monster Energy and Diageo, have withdrawn from the event.
"When nearly half of the capacity for two nights remains unsold just days before opening, that's a clear warning sign," said Amit Dhuleshia, co- founder of Strategic Action for Animals. "This puts significant pressure on companies that remain publicly associated with the event."
A court case is underway, with Animal Protection and Rescue League suing the San Diego Padres, the host of the event. That group, along with Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, filed a temporary restraining order against the rodeo's organizers in 2023, shortly followed by a lawsuit.
The restraining order was denied, but a full trial moved forward over the case of "Waco Kid," a horse badly injured during a relay race during the rodeo in 2024. Waco Kid never walked again.
During last year's event, the 11-month-pregnant horse named Pearl Necklace died shortly after competing in a saddle bronc event. Though the horse showed no visible signs of physical injury, it began shaking 15 minutes after the event and later collapsed and died.
A San Diego Humane Society investigation into the death found no legal violations nor probable cause for criminal charges against the horse's owner or rodeo organizers.
The Humane Society said that during its investigation into the death, a necropsy revealed the horse was pregnant and died from a ruptured uterine artery. The Humane Society described the condition as a potentially fatal one that "may occur spontaneously."
The horse's foal also did not survive.
Despite the findings, the Humane Society said it continues to oppose rodeos "due to the inherent risks they pose and the fear, anxiety and stress they cause to animals. This tragic incident, combined with the serious injury of another horse after last year's rodeo, underscores the dangers of these events."
Bryan Pease, an attorney representing animal advocacy groups that have sued to block San Diego from hosting rodeos, called the Humane Society's report "whitewashed" due to its finding that the horse's ruptured artery occurred spontaneously and was not definitively connected to the rodeo event.
Pease said all the horses that took part in the saddle bronc event were restrained around their abdomens by bucking straps, "which forces the horse to buck wildly against the painful apparatus."
The trial, which began in San Diego Superior Court on Monday, is seeking to ban the rodeo from things such as using bucking straps and roping calves.
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