"The last little bit of Makawao." In 2020, when the Oskie Rice Arena was being moved and rebuilt, longtime bull rider Matt Gouveia used that phrase for the rodeo when he spoke with The Maui News. Back then, most people thought of the arena on Olinda Road as a Fourth of July place.
The arena now has two rodeo weekends a year. The July one is the Makawao Stampede, which ran July 3 to 5 this year. The October one starts this Friday, Oct. 23. The 2026 Oskie Rice Memorial Rodeo runs three days and marks 110 years since Harold W. "Pop" Rice bought Kaonoulu Ranch in August 1916. According to Maui Now's preview, it runs alongside Festivals of Aloha this year.
Each of the three days is a different event. If you only have time for one, the schedule points to Sunday.
A Sunday afternoon in 1956
The rodeo started at the ranch. Pop Rice expanded Kaonoulu after marrying Charlotte Baldwin, and the ranch bred and trained ponies and raised cattle. His son, Harold F. "Oskie" Rice, became ranch manager in the early 1930s. In 1955, Oskie and his brother-in-law Garfield King bought the land. That same year, the Maui Roping Club was formed. Oskie offered it a licensed agreement for $10 a year to mark off the area it needed for an arena.
The Maui News, citing the Makawao History Museum, reports that the first official Makawao Rodeo opened on a Sunday afternoon in July 1956. About 2,000 fans watched paniolo from three islands compete, roughly four times the crowd organizers had planned for. Oskie led 50 riders into the arena on horseback carrying the American and Hawaiian flags. His granddaughter, Rice Peterson, told the paper that "Oskie Rice has always wanted a place for the community to gather."
The ranch has grown into what Maui County described in 2016 as a 12,000-acre ahupuaʻa running from Haleakalā down to Kihei, and the Rice and King partnership continues. Oskie's idea of the arena as a community gathering place is easiest to see on this year's Sunday schedule.
Three days, three different rodeos
The events come in a set order, and the order matters. Friday is built around one event, Saturday around the classic program, and Sunday around a title.
| Friday, Oct. 23 | Saturday, Oct. 24 | Sunday, Oct. 25 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main event | Friday Night Bull Bash | Saturday Night Memorial Rodeo | Championship Rodeo |
| Gates open | 3 p.m. | 3 p.m. | 11 a.m., or 9 a.m. for Cowboy Church |
| Fan Field warm-up | DJ Boomshot's Country Mash-up, 4 to 5:45 p.m. | 808Vibez, 4 to 5:45 p.m. | Cultural program, 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. |
| Arena start | 6 p.m. | 6 p.m. | 1 p.m. |
| On the card | Professional bull riding, match barrels, mutton busting | Bull and bronc riding, barrel racing, team roping | Bull riding, bareback bronc, team roping, buckles on the line |
Friday is the fast night. The Bull Bash page promises professional riders on "some of the most challenging bulls in the Pacific region," with more than 50 local vendors in the Fan Field once the gates open. A preliminary qualifier runs that morning at 8 a.m., before the crowds arrive.
Saturday is the full traditional program, with the memorial performance under the lights. The official event page and the ticket portal list different end times, so plan on an evening that could run past 9.
Sunday is the only daytime show and the only day competitors ride for buckles. It is also the day most tied to Festivals of Aloha. The Makawao entry in the Festivals of Aloha schedule, as published by Maui Now, promises Hawaiian music, hula, cultural demonstrations, local food, artisan vendors and family activities at Oskie Rice Arena.
Pick your seat before you pick your night
The same ticket tiers apply on Saturday and Sunday, and the price range listed for Friday is the same, $20 to $175. The tier you buy decides how close you get to the arena.
- Fan Field, $20. You get the vendors, the music and the food. You watch the rodeo on a jumbotron.
- General admission, $45. This adds the grandstands, so you see the arena directly. Kupuna and active military pay $25, keiki ages 4 to 12 pay $10, and children 3 and under get in free.
- Arena box, $100 per person. A box is sold only as all 10 seats together, so it costs $1,000 and works for a family group or a ranch crew.
- VIP Lanai, $150, or VIP Lanai plus GA, $175.
- VIP parking add-on, $25 per vehicle. Standard parking is free.
A $20 Fan Field ticket gets you the party, and $45 gets you a grandstand seat for the riding. If you came for the bull riding, the $25 difference matters. If you came for the music and the food, it doesn't.
Tickets are nonrefundable, there is no re-entry, and the ticket portal warns that online resale offers are scams. Buy from the official portal and plan to stay once you're inside.
The arena has no signal
The rodeo's FAQ page puts the most important rule in capital letters. There is no Wi-Fi or cell service at the arena. A QR code sitting in an unopened email won't load once you reach the gate.
Before you drive up Olinda Road:
- Save your tickets. Download, screenshot or print every QR code before you leave home.
- Bring a card. The event is cashless.
- Use a clear bag. Bags are checked at entry, and outside food and drinks aren't allowed.
- Know your gate. VIP parking pass holders use Gates 1 and 2. All other tickets enter through Gates 2 and 4. All disabled parking is at Gate 2.
The rules leave some things unsaid. The FAQ doesn't address coolers or shuttles, so the outside-food rule is the safest guide. The address also appears two ways in official listings, 521 Olinda Rd. on the event page and 523 Olinda Rd. on the event center's site, so check the gate directions with organizers if you're mapping the drive.
Sunday, hour by hour
Sunday packs church, a cultural program and a championship into one afternoon, and it is the day closest to what Rice Peterson described.
9 a.m. Gates open for Cowboy Church. The official Cowboy Church post invites everyone to the service.
10 a.m. Pastor Kaipo Thomas leads the service in the grandstands. The same post says Fan Field entry after the service is free. The Championship ticket page still lists the $20 Fan Field tier, so check with organizers about exactly what the free entry covers before you count on it.
11 a.m. General gates open, and the Fan Field Main Stage starts its program. The organizers' Festivals of Aloha Sunday announcement lists Leimana Purdy from 11:15 to 11:45 a.m. and the Kamehameha Schools Maui Hawaiian Ensemble from noon to 12:45 p.m. The Championship event page lists 808Vibez in that window, so the lineup may still shift.
12:45 p.m. The Festivals of Aloha ribbon drawing. If you wear or bring your Festivals of Aloha ribbon and enter at the Akamai tent, you're in the drawing for a $300 Mokulele Airlines travel certificate. The winner is announced on the Main Stage, must be present to win, and terms may apply.
1 p.m. The Championship Rodeo begins with bull riding, bareback bronc and team roping, with buckles at stake.
The first Makawao Rodeo was also held on a Sunday afternoon. This Sunday goes from church to Hawaiian music to a championship in the daylight. With free parking at the gate, a family can spend the whole afternoon in the grandstands for $45 per adult and $10 for each keiki ages 4 to 12, and children 3 and under get in free.
Back in 2020, Gouveia told The Maui News that the rodeo is "all about the kids, the next generation." On Friday night, that means the mutton busting on the Bull Bash card. On Sunday, it means the Kamehameha Schools Maui ensemble on the Main Stage before the riders come out.
Upcountry's paniolo history is part of why so many families have put down roots between Olinda Road and Baldwin Avenue, and I'm always glad to talk about what keeps this part of Maui close to its ranching past. If you're planning a longer stay in Makawao, or just want to compare notes on rodeo weekend, contact Riette for a private consultation at Riette Jenkins.
