“This competition brings out the best of the best linemen from all over,” said Vinnie Sanchez, an e-crew foreman from Tulare that has been competing in rodeos for about 10 years. “It’s an opportunity to showcase what we do every day, but in a competition setting.”

It's also where SCE teams can earn their golden ticket to Kansas to compete in the International Lineman’s Rodeo against utilities from all over the world. Each year, SCE sends their best teams to represent the company on an international stage.

To get there, each rodeo hopeful must beat out around 100 other linemen, all gunning for the same shot.

“You can't just show up to a rodeo and hope you do good. It's not going to work,” said Sanchez. “During rodeo season, my team comes to work at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday to practice.”

“What’s good about our team is that we’ve been together for a while now, so we can almost read each other’s minds,” added Mathew Katz, the groundman on Sanchez’s team.

At this year's SCE Lineman’s Rodeo, their team, along with 32 others journeyman lineman teams and 31 apprentices, went toe-to-toe in Chino, competing in several events.

Lineman teams completed: pole climb, hurt man rescue, 12kv tap change out and covered conductor avian protection install.

The apprentices had five events, including a written test, pole climb, hurt man rescue, tap change out and a mystery event.

Judged on how quickly they can complete an event, but docked for any safety violations made, many times winning comes down to a difference of tenths of a second.

“These rodeos are a good time — they're fun and they're fast — but being safe is the most important thing,” said Mathew Newton, a lineman from the Tulare area that has been competing in rodeos since he was an apprentice. “We want to make sure we are practicing what matters most in real-world scenarios.”

“You go in with a game plan, but sometimes things change and you need to adjust on the fly,” said Fernando Valenzuela, a foreman from Covina that competes as the groundman on his team.

Ahead of SCE’s rodeo, teams were able to compete in other utility rodeos — giving them an opportunity to gauge the competition and practice their approach.

At this year’s PG&E and LADWP events, three SCE teams all battled for a place on the podium — two from Tulare and one from Covina.

Tulare: Vinnie Sanchez, Matt Katz and Justin Maple

Tulare: Brandon Gloria, Matt Newton and from LADWP David Angove

Covina: Fabian Gutierrez, Jose Leon and Fernando Valenzuela

“We took second at the PG&E rodeo, but Gloria, Newton and Angove beat us at the LADWP rodeo a few weeks later, so you really never know how it's going to go,” said Sanchez.

“All you can do is show up, run a clean rodeo and hope your times are good enough to win,” added Gloria. “We all grew up playing sports, so we are all super competitive, and we all want to win.”

When it came time to shine, all three teams executed and took home a win — their road to Kansas is just beginning.