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Knudsen visits Saudi Arabia

Rodeo announcer at camel festival

By Holly Neumann


Jesse Knudsen, a rodeo announcer from Manawa, traveled more than 7,000 miles to Saudi Arabia.

He was with Rice Bull Riding Company to be part of the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival Bull Riding.

Knudsen grew up around the rodeo world.

His dad was a participant, and his mother was a rodeo queen.

“Being from Manawa, it’s kind of hard not to rodeo,” he said. “I used to ride broncos and bulls, but I suffered from a pretty bad shoulder injury so that transformed into bullfighting.”

Later, a friend asked him to announce his bull riding event.

“I figured I could make a lot more money announcing and my worst injury would be a hoarse voice the next day,” he said.

He began announcing part time as an independent contractor in 1999.

By 2004, he was doing it on a full-time basis.

Jesse Knudsen on a camel ride in Saudi Arabi.
Submitted Photo

Now, he and 14 staff members from Rice Bull Riding Company and 27 bull riders traveled to Saudi Arabia, where they performed 19 times.

“I had just gotten back from the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas and Dave (Rice) called and asked if I had my passport and if I would be willing to go,” he said.

Knudsen initially thought he was kidding.

When a representative flew out to meet them, he knew it was real.

“This was a trip of a lifetime,” said Knudsen. “We were gone for 34 days.”

They returned on March 26.

The shows took place 90 miles north of Riyadh , in the middle of a desert on a camel track that was transformed into the festival grounds.

“Buildings were still going up when we got there,” said Knudsen. “It looked like a county or state fair. There were games and vendors set up. Some different side shows and even sumo wrestling. The magnitude of the event was impressive. It felt great to be a small part of something so huge.”

While there, Knudsen also saw some of the country.

“We got to go to Riyadh and we also did trips to Rumah,” he said. “I even got to go on a 60-minute camel ride into the dessert. When we got to our destination, we took part in some of the customs of the Saudi heritage. It was pretty cool.”

There were some surprises.

“There was a man from Saudi Arabia, wearing a Green Bay Packers shirt,” he said. “I even got my picture taken with him.”

Although Knudsen thought there would be chances to travel with his job, he was thinking those place would include Canada or Australia.

“Never once did I think I would go to the Middle East,” he said. “But everything happens for a reason and if given the chance, I would go back again.”

The biggest thing Knudsen took from his trip was learning people in the United States are fortunate.

“There you see the people that are begging for work there and cannot find anything. Then you come to America and businesses are begging for people to work,” he said. “Our bus drivers even wanted to come to America for a better life. We have it really good here, and I don’t think people realize that.”

Rice Bull Riding Company is from Princeton, Minnesota. It is owned and operated by Rice, his wife Christina and son Dalton.

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