Cowboys in the pink to start latest Rancheros ride

Cowboys in pink shirts took over the streets of Solvang on Saturday afternoon during the 82nd annual Rancheros Visitadores ride from Alisal Road to Old Mission Santa Inés for a blessing before their weeklong event. “This group of men has so much camaraderie and this is the first year all of them are wearing the same shirt to support breast cancer awareness,” said Linda Peckham of Solvang who was waiting to watch her husband John ride by. The 700 men donated $30,000 to the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara and Peckham said she couldn’t be prouder to be the wife of a Ranchero. Wearing pink is part of the “Tough Enough to Wear Pink” national campaign that was started in 2004 by entrepreneur Terry Wheatley, a breast cancer survivor, and Karl Stressman, then an employee of Wrangler and now commissioner of the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PCRA). With Wrangler as their primary sponsor, the pair has brought the campaign to rodeos and Western events across the U.S. and Canada to focus attention on the need for a cure. Along the way, the drive has raised more than $12 million for breast cancer charities. The Rancheros Visitadores, or the “Visiting Ranchers,” is a men’s social club founded in 1930 to commemorate traditional rides that once were made from ranch to ranch. Members have included dignitaries such as former President Ronald Reagan, Bob Hope, Gene Autry and Walt Disney. Members also come from many states and several foreign countries. Each year after the Kentucky Derby broadcast, the Rancheros ride on horseback, in carriages and wagons from Jackson Camp to the mission for the blessing and then move on to Janeway Camp, property they own near Lake Cachuma. “Being a rancher is more than a job, it’s a lifestyle. This ride every year is just a way for us to get together and have some fun,” said Allen Capurro, a Ranchero from Morristown, Ariz...more