Tehama - The Magazine - Red Bluff Daily News
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/88895
5 Days in January Red Bluff Bull & Gelding Sale brings ranching life to the general public over, just as residents start to settle solidly into the dull of winter, the Red Bluff Bull and Gelding Sale arrives to revive the town. Anchored in the quest for better genetics in the cattle indus- try, the event has grown to include a little something for everyone, from a tony gelding sale to cow dog tri- als, to a Western Art exhibit to a trade show with every- thing from barnyard basics to cowgirl bling. And then there's bull riding. The 72nd annual Red By Melissa Mendonca When the holidays are Bluff Bull and Gelding Sale will be held January 22-26, 2013 at the Tehama District Fairground. A popular event with locals, it also brings scores of out of town guests, many arriving in ranch trucks hauling stock trailers. Tehama County farm advisor Don Smith and a group of local ranchers, the inaugural bull sale was held in 1942 with the express goal of expanding the genetic lines of regional cattle herds. "It's grown, I'm sure, beyond their wildest dreams," says manager Adam Owens. Today around 150 bulls are entered in the sale, with about 110-115 making the grade to sell. Buyers come from across the west and as far as Hawaii and Colorado. The rigid standards for soundness and structure of the cattle ensures high quality and a sound pay-off for such distance traveled. While the event's pur- pose has expanded well beyond genetics in support of the cattle industry over the years, so too has the list First planned in 1941 by 20 Tehama - the Magazine, October, 2012 of ancillary activities that surround the tradition. The inclu- sion of geldings in the sale has become one of the hottest tickets in town. "People marvel that we can charge admission and get a big crowd," says Owens of the 3,000-3,500 people who show up each year to the horse sale. Featured are geldings registered with either the American Quarter Horse Association or the American Paint Horse registries.