The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Rodeo began in 1957 as a fundraiser to help people in need. The first rodeo, which would become an annual charity event, raised funds for a recreation center near Lytle Creek Park for children with disabilities.
The rodeo featured performers from throughout the West. Organizers held the event in conjunction with the National Orange Show, which drew large crowds to San Bernardino each year. The rodeo also featured a parade through downtown San Bernardino. By 1965, the annual event had raised over $40,000, which is equivalent to more than $300,000 today. The tradition continues today with the annual Sheriff’s Rodeo, which supports local charities.
The popular event was the idea of Sheriff Frank Bland who served from 1955 to 1983. Bland was known as a “cowboy with the mind of a modern-thinking lawman.” His law enforcement career began as a patrolman in his hometown of Needles before he joined the FBI in 1941. Two years later, he served with the U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima and Okinawa where he was wounded three times.
Bland returned to his hometown and became police chief of Needles in 1947 before running for county sheriff in 1954. As sheriff, he introduced the county’s first helicopter patrols. He also became the first law enforcement officer in the state to use color mugshots. In addition, Bland established search-and-rescue teams to serve the county’s varied terrain.
Bland is remembered through the Frank Bland Regional Training Center, which has served as a training facility for sheriff’s deputies and law enforcement officers throughout the state since 1971.
Additional County Update News – September 3, 2026
- Be rain ready: Is your family prepared?
- Board Actions, Sept. 1
- County welcomes Lauren Howland as public information officer
- First 5 San Bernardino appoints Cindy Faulkner as executive director
- Arrowhead Regional Medical Center receives reverification from the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma
- National Preparedness Month
- County Library invests in refreshed spaces at Rialto, Montclair and Yucaipa branches
- Sign up for your next adventure with a County Library card
- Animal Care is seeking short-term pet foster families to support upcoming Wings of Rescue flight
- SBC Through Your Eyes: Bluff Lake Reserve
- Submit your photos and videos of the county’s destinations, nature and cityscapes
- Things to do in San Bernardino County
- Pet of the Week: Matisse