Native American Appreciation Night Takes Top Billing As 78th-Annual Redding Rodeo Begins 4-Day Run On May 13, 14, 15 and 16, 2026

A beloved Northern California tradition, known as the Redding Rodeo with the theme—Buckin’ By The River—kicked off for the 78th time on Wednesday, May 13, 2026,  invading the hearts and minds of a stadium full of thousands of cheering, clapping, and—indeed—approving rodeo enthusiasts. Nothin’ better than that, huh?

According to Jack Potter, the self-deprecating, albeit charming, Chairman of the Redding Rancheria and Win-River Resort and Casino, the members had a great time at the Redding Rodeo’s Native American Appreciation night. “It was a night full of recognition of our Native American culture and history,” Potter exclaimed, “And it’s important that we all come together as one people, one human race, never forgetting who we are as individuals,” Potter concluded.

In addition to spotlighting Indigenous culture through special ceremonies, music, and performances such as the Redding Rancheria Stillwater Pow Wow Dancers, the night included singing "America the Beautiful” in the Piute language, along with traditional dancing featuring participants in full regalia. And to get the crowd cheering at very high decibels, Potter, as has become an annual tradition, climbed up on a stagecoach, circling to wild cheers.

Of course, the Native American Appreciation Night also featured a variety of professional rodeo action, with fans packing the stands to watch bareback riding, steer wrestling, and bull riding. A couple of local cowboys were in the throes of competition. They were R.C. Landingham from Hat Creek in Shasta County and Colby Demo from Red Bluff in Tehama County. 

And if you were front and center on the Redding Rodeo Grounds on Monday, May 11, you would’ve seen 150 youngsters participating in Mutton Bustin’ competition, whereby eager youngsters sit atop a slightly ornery goat, break out of the chute, and then (holy molly!) hold on for as long as they can. And of 150 that participated, only 48 were deemed “good enough” to take part in the four-day Redding Rodeo, May 13, 14, 15, and 16, 2026.

The 48 youngsters who qualified were, in an A to Z fashion:  Crew Barnes, Finn Buckmaster, Tenley Campbell, Jaxson Dodgin, Cooper Hibbs, Hudson Hibbs, Tanner Jones, Mia Sevilla, Waylon Skow, Olivia Tooker, Hawkins Webster, and Helen Woolery.

According to Redding Rodeo Association President Ted Bambino, on Saturday night, May 16, 2026, the last day of the Redding Rodeo, there’ll be a salute to our country on its 250th birthday, followed by a super fireworks show to close out the 78th-annual Redding Rodeo.