
Three men and a bull engage in a friendly competition. Friendly? This bull bumped my rear! Photo by Lito Beltran, FPPF.
Festive buntings, bull-riding lasses, cowboys and cowgirls, bruised knees and egos – and a cowboy-dressed senator spooking the horses with his helicopter arrival in the middle of the show: these were the memorable sights of the 2009 Rodeo Masbateño held in Masbate City last March 18-21, four days of rambunctious bull-riding as centerpiece of the festivities in the agricultural town.
Well, they didn’t exactly ride bulls always – the girls were riding cows – but the sights were just as exciting as the American Old West originals and just as dangerous. The FPPF was there to cover the colorful events, this being the 14th year of the Masbate Rodeo, held yearly to give thanks for a bountiful harvest, like any fiesta in the Philippines.

No, this cowgirl's not on top of her cow -- she's trying to lift a 35-kilogram bagful of sand, part of the cowgirl contest of the rodeo show. Photo by Jinggoy Espayos, FPPF.

Run! This calf's gone mad! Photo by Lito Beltran, FPPF.

Headman: masarap tenga nito! Tailman: mas masarap itong buntot pang kare-kare! Photo by Jinggoy Espayos, FPPF.

Whooaaa! Kaya akong ihagis nito! Photo by Jinggoy Espayos, FPPF.

Ouch! That hurts! A cowgirl falls on her face trying to ride her bull. Yes, that's a bull. Photo by Jinggoy Espayos, FPPF.

A cowgirl wrestles with her bovine. Cow? Bull? It's a bull, if you look closely. Photo by Jinggoy Espayos, FPPF.

Told you it was dangerous. The cowgirl is carried on a stretcher after her bull refused to budge. The girl came out alright, though, suffered only minor bruises, mostly on her fragile ego. Photo by Jinggoy Espayos, FPPF.

Beauty first! With her cow pinned to the ground, a cowgirl finds a split-second to fix her hair. Photo by Jinggoy Espayos, FPPF.

In more serene surroundings, FPPF Director Lito Beltran, right, finds time to talk with economist Ernest Leung who is doing conservation work with turtles in Masbate. Mr. Leung recently took care of some stranded turtles and nursed them back to health and freedom. Photo by Jinggoy Espayos, FPPF.


Commented: April 8, 2010 at 8:22 am
Kelan po ang masbate rodeo for 2010?
salamat po?
Commented: March 19, 2010 at 5:59 pm
who was the overall champion and from where?
Commented: March 12, 2010 at 11:25 am
may byahe na raw ang air philippines manila to masbate vice versa? sana makauwi ako sa masbate….
Commented: March 12, 2010 at 11:23 am
nice pics! i’m proud to be a Masbateño.
Commented: March 3, 2010 at 5:37 pm
To Rodeo Masbateno organizers… great job. May I know when the exact date of next event. I am planning to go Masbate to see this event.
More power…
Commented: August 13, 2009 at 9:59 am
so nice to see the photos and events last Rodeo Masbateño 2009. i was not able to go to the event coz’ am at work. i badly miss playing rodeo and watching the event. it’s nice to know that there are people who share the event to the world even though the competition is not that popular in some places here in Philippines…
Commented: July 21, 2009 at 11:13 am
Wow! this is something that we Masbateño can be proud of…
Commented: May 31, 2009 at 11:41 am
bonix,y u ask? kta ka ug gwapa?haha
Commented: May 11, 2009 at 2:30 pm
@bonix: marami pang photos ng masbate rodeo, naka-display ngayon sa FPPF Gallery sa Fort Santiago, Manila. (there’s even more in the hard drives of jinggoy espayos and mr. lito beltran, if you’re interested. ask tel: 524-7576.
Commented: May 11, 2009 at 12:22 pm
hi sir..
pwd mgtanong??
meron p bang ibang mga photo maliban sa nkapost??
Commented: April 19, 2009 at 6:48 am
hi poh…regards sa vsu cow girl…..
Commented: April 19, 2009 at 3:11 am
regards sa vsu players lalong lalo na sa mga chick…poise pa rin kahit pagod na huh?
Commented: April 17, 2009 at 1:59 pm
To Mr. Jinggoy Espayos,
hello sir, i congratulate you for getting a good shots in every event of this rodeo held last march 18-24…i only accidentaly opened this site…wow! i remember those days, fyi i’m also a cowgirl wayback 80′s in clsu,nueva ecija, kami ang mga 1st batch ng mga cowgirls(students) from clsu na sumabak nun sa picc, luckily we won the 1st prize for the women division…being the tailman talagang mahirap din, kasi dapat maagap ka din sa paghawak ng buntot…masaya ako at nakita ko itong site na ito..more power and hope to see more pics of rodeo again next year.
lirio,
al-khobar, ksa
Commented: April 5, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Congratulations to Ka Lito and Jinggoy for landing a full page article/pictorial in Sunday’s issue (April 5, 2009) of the Manila Bulletin! The online article is here: http://mb.com.ph/articles/201388/the-masbate-rodeo
Commented: April 5, 2009 at 4:43 pm
good to hear from you again, brother ali.
Commented: April 3, 2009 at 5:33 am
Beautiful pictures
Thank you my brothers in the Philippines
…….
ali al mansoori
from qatar
Commented: March 31, 2009 at 9:35 am
nice breath taking shots sir Lito and sir Jinggoy! =)
Commented: March 31, 2009 at 8:55 am
Galing mo talaga Jinggoy!!!
Commented: March 31, 2009 at 1:19 am
hi po. its so nice to see the pics during rodeo masbateño 2009. i was one of the volunteer in that event. i would like to ask if you could share your pics to us? also, i remembered you took a pic of our pregnant volunteer. she would love to see her pic too! thanks po. hope next year you’ll be there again! thanks po. YAP