Toppenish rodeo grounds will be silent on July 4

TOPPENISH -- Financial problems brought on by a lawsuit and past embezzlement have canceled the town's largest annual event this year, the Toppenish Powwow & Rodeo.

It will be the first time the annual event has been canceled in roughly 40 years, said Richard Halvorson, vice president of the Toppenish Rodeo and Livestock Association.

The Toppenish Powwow & Rodeo began in 1933 and usually begins on July 4 in conjunction with a parade.

"Normally, we'd be real busy right now working to get the rodeo going," Halvorson said.

But this year, rodeo grounds are quiet. And if rodeo officials can't come up with enough money within a month to cover a $53,724 settlement awarded to a man who crashed his motorcycle on rodeo grounds nearly three years ago, it may stay that way for good.

A judge recently ordered the foreclosure of the Toppenish Fairgrounds on South Division Street so the motorcyclist in the lawsuit can receive damages awarded him.

The Toppenish Rodeo and Livestock Association owns the property, which consists of about 38 acres zoned light industrial with an assessed value of $418,200.

Now, rodeo officials are working with their bank to acquire a loan to pay for the damages in hopes of blocking the foreclosure, Halvorson said.

"What we're asking for (in a loan) isn't half of what that land is worth," he said. "If we can come up with that money at any time, we can stop (foreclosure)."

The rodeo association thought it had insurance on its grounds, but learned otherwise after the motorcycle crash.

Insurance premiums were paid to an insurance agent, but a policy was never in place, leaving the rodeo association forced to pay damages when the lawsuit was settled, Halvorson said.

The association's financial tailspin began with the embezzlement of at least $60,000 by a former treasurer a few years ago.

Although the person involved in the embezzlement has paid back most of what was taken, the rodeo association is still on the hook for bank overdraft fees and unpaid bills brought on by the theft.

Saddled with the financial setbacks and uncertainty over fairground property, rodeo officials had no choice but to call off this year's event, Halvorson said.

Reduced attendance the past two years also has led to declining revenue and influenced the decision.

"What we didn't want to do is have another (rodeo) and end up losing money on it," Halvorson said.

There is still an effort this year have a carnival and powwow, which usually accompany the rodeo. There's even talk of holding a smaller rodeo in September at the fairgrounds.

But before any of that happens, the cash-strapped rodeo association needs to cover the settlement. If so, the rodeo will back in full swing next year.

"We're real optimistic that we'll get this thing (going again)," Halvorson said.

Renting out a building that holds roughly 300 people on the Toppenish Fairgrounds, where the rodeo is held, will help create a steady revenue stream into the association, he said.

The building went up in the early 1990s, but indecision about how to operate it stalled any projects there. Now, the plan is to rent it out.

* Phil Ferolito can be reached at 577-7749 or pferolito@yakimaherald.com.

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