{"id":2402,"date":"2026-07-09T09:35:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T09:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2402"},"modified":"2026-07-09T09:35:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T09:35:09","slug":"hawaii-island-riders-makawao-stampede-debut-honors-late-father","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2402","title":{"rendered":"Hawaii Island rider\u2019s Makawao Stampede debut honors late father"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<section>\n<p>MAKAWAO (HawaiiNewsNow) &#8211; Justin Saragosa Jr., 20, known as JJ, entered the Makawao Stampede\u2019s bull bash last weekend for the first time. It\u2019s an event his father, Justin Saragosa Sr., considered one of his favorite rodeos.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2400\">State takes lead on Banyan Drive redevelopment in Hilo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Saragosa Sr. was 30 years old and working at Pearl Harbor when a 10-ton buoy fell and killed him in 2014.<\/p>\n<p>JJ was 9 years old at the time.<\/p>\n<h2>A family tradition<\/h2>\n<p>JJ\u2019s uncle, Gerald Saragosa, was the first in the family to ride bulls. Saragosa Sr. quickly followed in his footsteps.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cDamn good bull rider. He won some rodeos. He won some buckles,\u201d Gerald said.<\/p>\n<h2>Riding to honor his father<\/h2>\n<p>About a year ago, JJ decided he wanted to ride bulls, just like his uncle and father.<\/p>\n<p>On the drive to Makawao for the bull bash, Gerald said a rainbow appeared over the arena.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told Justin and I told my son, Diego, I said, \u2018Hey guys, I\u2019m not here alone helping you guys. I get your dad with me. I know he\u2019s here, helping me pull your rope, give him that slap on the back, and the encouragement,\u2019\u201d said Gerald.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2398\">California man sentenced in Hawaii methamphetamine, fentanyl conspiracy case<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The crowd\u2019s energy left an impression on JJ.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou cannot beat the crowd. There are a lot of people. The energy and the crowd made us feel like superstars, and you can\u2019t ask for more than that as a bull rider,\u201d Justin Saragosa Jr. said.<\/p>\n<p>Gerald said qualifying made the moment even more meaningful.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat made it even more special is that he qualified,\u201d Gerald said.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>JJ qualified on Friday night and drew a top-ranked bull named Watermelon Moonshine for his next ride.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was my dad testing me,\u201d JJ said. \u201cI gave him my all. I mean, he\u2019s still a strong bull, but I gave him my all. I was having fun. That was exciting. I\u2019ll remember that bull ride for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>JJ\u2019s message to others is it doesn\u2019t matter how many times life knocks you down. What matters is how many times you get back up.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2397\">Blangiardi meets Taiwan delegation over Chinatown Cultural Plaza redevelopment<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Justin Saragosa Jr., 20, made his Makawao Stampede bull bash debut, honoring his late father and continuing a family tradition of bull riding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2401,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Hawaii Island rider\u2019s Makawao Stampede debut honors late father - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2402\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hawaii Island rider\u2019s Makawao Stampede debut honors late father - 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