BRYAN LIONS CLUB RODEO TO END 50-YEAR RUN
In July, the 50th Annual Bryan Breakfast Lions Club PRCA Rodeo will be held. It will be the final performance of the long-time event, which began in 1971.
Event organizers say this year’s rodeo will pay tribute to the late Sammy and Pete Catalena. Carolyn Catalena, owner of Catalena Hatters, told the B/CS Eagle, “It’s not the same without Sammy and Pete. We all want to do this to honor them. Sammy’s ambition was to make it to the 50th year,”
The rodeo will also serve as the final performance for the renowned Catalena Cowgirls, a group of approximately 20-25 women who perform on horseback and have appeared across the country at a variety of events.
Former Brazos County Commissioner, Sammy Catalena, who owned Catalena Hatters, died on May of 2020. His brother Pete Catalena, a civic leader who co-founded the Catalena Cowgirls, died in September.
The two-day rodeo will include barrel racing, calf roping and team roping, among numerous events. The rodeo will also have events for children and is open to all ages.
There will also be be a Catalena Cowgirls reunion at the end of June.
Rodeo organizer Joanna Spencer said in a recent interview that the Catalena Cowgirls will open and close each night’s events. She also described the rodeo as a tribute to the Catalena brothers and to the Bryan Breakfast Lions Club, as well as to the Catalena Cowgirls.
The rodeo was canceled last year.