The first night of the Elks Rodeo kicked off Thursday. And with it, a fan-favorite pre-rodeo event for the young ones.
Thursday evening saw the first night of the annual Stick Horse Race, where young participants put on their best riding outfits before a race on stick horseback.
Starting Friday night, the Silver Dollar Coin Dig returns. That's where kids go digging through the rodeo arena dirt for hidden treasure.
KSBY spoke with one young attendee who described the technique for finding coins and how fun the pony races are.
"If you wanna find more coins, you can just use your arms to feel the dirt and move it out of the way," said Sophia Gomez, 8, from Santa Maria, who was alongside her sister Aliah, 7, and brother Noah, 4. "And then for the stick pony what I like about it was like you pretend you're on a real horse."
The silver dollar dig and stick-horse race will run each night of the Elks Rodeo this weekend before the main event.
You can learn more on the Elks Rodeo website.
