SALINAS — California Rodeo Association has announced its 2024 Golden Circle of Champions delegate, 6-year-old Jaizel Mendoza of Salinas.
Mendoza was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in April 2022 and is currently living with an inoperable chest tumor. The Golden Circle of Champions, a nonprofit organization, provides support to pediatric cancer patients and their families through financial aid and additional resources.
Originating in Santa Maria, the program expanded in 2018 to include 20 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association-sanctioned rodeos. These rodeos sponsor a child, funding a trip to Las Vegas for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in December.
The children and their families are honored at an annual banquet and paired with professional rodeo athletes who teach them about the sport and spend quality time with them. Following the banquet, they attend a rodeo performance, cheering for their new friends, the professional rodeo athletes they met at the banquet.
Mendoza and her family are thrilled to travel to Las Vegas for the festivities.
The California Rodeo Salinas’ Golden Circle of Champions Committee is dedicated to helping local families who are battling or surviving cancer. The committee offers activities to take their mind off cancer, financial assistance and works to expand the program beyond the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo trip.
“The Rodeo Association recently expanded the Golden Circle of Champions program locally by hosting a family playday with Hope, Horses & Kids, inviting all past champions along with Jaizel and another local cancer patient, nearly 6-year-old Addison McWherter, who is also battling neuroblastoma,” said the Rodeo’s Marketing Manager Mandy Linquist. “The day included lessons with horses, interactions with bunnies and chickens, fishing, lunch from Salinas City Barbecue, desserts from Rancho Cielo and more. We loved seeing the smiles on the kids’ and their families’ faces.”
Linquist added that it was fitting that the event was held in October, which is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month.
Partial proceeds from the Flair on the Farm bar, held Nov. 23-24 at the Salinas Sports Complex, as well as a dinner fundraiser scheduled for March 13, 2025, will raise funds for the Golden Circle of Champions program.
