Rodeo riders

Jose Paul Corona

Motorcycle officers from across Southern California descended on

Surf City and went head to head in a competition designed to test

their riding skills.

As they zipped through an obstacle course of orange cones,

officers pumped their fists in triumph or groaned in defeat.

They weaved around cones, executed sharp turns and tried not to

wipe out or run over their obstacles during the annual Southern

California Police Motorcycle Training Rodeo held at Huntington State

Beach last week.

Navigating an 800-pound motorcycle around tight corners and sharp

turns isn’t an easy thing to do when you aren’t allowed to use vital

instruments.

“You should be able to control the bike with the throttle and no

brake,” said Huntington Beach Police Sgt. Gary Meza, a former motor

officer.

The motorcycles that police officers drive are a lot bigger than

average bikes and require more skill and concentration than driving a

car, Huntington Beach Police Sgt. Mike Reynolds said.

“When you’re riding a motorcycle, there’s no room for

daydreaming,” he said.

While the event provided a fun, competitive outlet for officers

coming from 27 different police forces, as far away as San Diego, it

also gave them valuable training during the competition.

“It’s good seeing different patterns,” said Randy Peterson, an

officer with the Long Beach Police Department. “It’s really neat to

see how different agencies set up [their courses].”

As officers waited for their scores to be tallied, they had

hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch and bought raffle tickets for

various donated items.

Proceeds from the food sales and raffle, which totaled $5,100,

benefited the family of Orange County Sheriff Sgt. Matthew Davis, who

died in September after his motorcycle collided with a car at a

Mission Viejo intersection.

When the rodeo was over, Surf City officers made an impressive

showing on their home turf, with three local boys sweeping the

Kawasaki division and Norm Evenson, a senior officer with the

department, taking the “Top Gun” award. Evenson and his teammates,

Senior Officers Burt Adkins and Larry Braz, also won the team portion

of the event.