RICHARD GREEN/THE CALIFORNIAN Clay Tryan and Allen Bach were winners in the Team Roping event Sunday at the California Rodeo Salinas. DANIEL MIRANDA/THE CALIFORNIAN Fans stand up and take a break Sunday at the California Rodeo Salinas at the Salinas Sports Complex. Rodeo officials said they would have the final attendance figures in a few days. RICHARD GREEN/THE CALIFORNIAN A rider carrying the American flag participates in opening ceremonies Sunday at the California Rodeo Salinas at the Salinas Sports Complex. DANIEL MIRANDA/THE CALIFORNIAN Marilyn Arteaga, front, enjoys the Special Buckaroos Rodeo on Saturday.

It is estimated that 60,000 Rodeo-goers packed the grandstands of the Salinas Sports Complex for the five-day event that included bull riding, steer wrestling and horse races, said Rodeo President Lloyd Appling.

"It's probably been since about 1980 since we've had these type of numbers," he said. "I think when we're through we will have had at least 10,000 more people than last year."

Appling attributes the increase to this year's massive advertising campaign.

"I think we're right on track," he said. "The community is continuing to grow and we're growing right with it."

Organizers were hoping to entertain 50,000 people, but because of Mother Nature, smart marketing and just the luck of the draw, they exceeded their goal, said Sally Hamana, Rodeo marketing coordinator.

"You can never discount what beautiful weather can do for an outdoor event," Hamana said. "But besides the weather, we do things better than anybody else."

Hamana won't have the actual attendance numbers for a few days. But she is confident that focusing the marketing campaign on families was a good call because Thursday and Friday, family nights, saw a record number of spectators, she said.

Also, the Rodeo quadrupled marketing aimed at the Latino community in an effort to reflect the Salinas population.

The ticket brochures were bilingual for the first time, and the Rodeo was able to team up with several Spanish-speaking television and radio stations, she said.

"We are just waiting on the numbers of our survey to tell us whether there is a direct correlation between our Hispanic marketing and the bigger numbers," Hamana said.

But some Rodeo-goers have already noticed a demographic change.

Leo Martinez, 44, of Salinas has attended every Rodeo for the past 25 years.

"A lot of Hispanic people like rodeo because this is where they come from," he said. "But year by year, I see more and more Mexican people have been coming."

Martinez sees the increases as an effect of the growing Salinas Latino community and not the advertising campaign.

Whatever the reason, organizers are happy with the results.

Not everything went as smoothly as rising attendance, however.

For next year, Hamana hopes to improve the manner in which information is relayed to the public.

"There was a lot of confusion as to when things were starting this year," she said. "People thought gates opened at 4 p.m., but they actually opened at 5 p.m., so we had to compromise and open at 4:30."

Hamana also hopes to make the competitors and clowns more accessible to the public next year.

The autograph booths were well received and she hopes to make them bigger and better next year.

"We got the big picture right," she said. "We just have to refine a few of the details."

Originally published Monday, July 21, 2003