By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
Bull riding returned to downtown Del Rio on Saturday, bringing live bull riding to the heart of the city’s historic business district.
“Bulls Back” was a free event in collaboration with Sweet Scoops Real Fruit Ice Cream and Valero
Sweet Scoops” event downtown on Saturday. De Leon spoke after riding the bull and said, “It
took a lot of me,” and adding it takes a lot of “mental toughness” to ride bulls competitively.
Some 10 bull riders from across the state of Texas traveled to Del Rio for the bull riding event
held at Sweet Scoops, located on 107 W. Dignowity St. (Photo by Louis Zylka)
Bucking Bulls & Portable Arena. The event started with goat roping held early in the morning, and bull riding and mutton busting was held during the evening.
A small bull-riding arena, complete with bleachers and animal corrals, was set up between West Dignowity Street and Pierce Street along with vendors and food trucks surrounding the area. Yulissa Guajardo, co-owner of Sweet Scoops, said the event had a good turnout and mentioned it was successful for the vendors who attended and the nearby downtown bars.
Raymundo Valero, owner of Valero Bucking Bulls, said it was the second time his company had brought a smaller bull-riding event to the downtown area. The previous event was held in August 2024 at the intersection of South Main Street and Martin Street.
Valero said his company has staged bull-riding events in other towns, and their next event will be in Houston in October. He said these types of free events are good for the community because they bring the neighborhoods together, and he hopes next year’s bull-riding event becomes bigger.
About 10 bull riders from Del Rio and across Texas competed in the event.
Dawson Brown of New Braunfels took first place, holding on for more than eight seconds to claim the top spot. He earned a $2,500 prize and a custom belt buckle trophy.
Brown spoke with The 830 Times about his experience visiting Del Rio and participating in the competition
“This is my first time in Del Rio in five years, and I want to say thank you to the amazing Del Rio city; you all were amazing and thank you all for cheering me on for this victory. I couldn’t have done it without you all,” Brown said.
Brown said Saturday’s “pop-up rodeo” event was fun, and he encouraged Del Rio to continue having them, adding, “It’s a great opportunity to bring everyone from the community around for everyone to enjoy music and food, meet people and enjoy bull riding.”
