Break-a-Wave: Where the Rodeo Meets the Pacific
Written and Photographed by Dee Yates
When Cal Poly Rodeo coach Ben Londo first dreamed up a roping on the beach, it wasn’t to make headlines, it was to keep his students sane. In the quiet chaos of COVID, with college rodeo shut down and classes trapped behind Zoom screens, Londo wanted to give his team something real again. A place to compete, to feel the grit, and to gather like cowboys are meant to. The beach just happened to be open.
That’s how Break-a-Wave began, part practice, part rebellion, and a whole lot of heart. What started as a simple exhibition with a few panels, some calves, and the Pacific rolling in behind them has grown into one of the most talked-about productions in college rodeo.
This year, the event stepped clean out of its grassroots boots and into a full-scale production, two days of rodeo, live music, and enough horsepower to make the surfers stop and stare. For the first time, it became a ticketed event, fenced and seated, with a VIP area packed with sponsors and alumni who helped raise serious scholarship funds for Cal Poly’s rodeo program.
The setting couldn’t be more California. Pismo Beach is one of the last public beaches where vehicles and horses still share the sand, and the state park system has become an unlikely partner in keeping it that way. “They take a lot of pride in that,” says Londo. “It’s a point of heritage here, showing that livestock and surfboards can coexist just fine.”
For the students, Break-a-Wave is far more than a weekend showcase. It’s a learn-by-doing master class. Londo’s students build the arena, push cattle, manage VIP tents, run media, and even handle production through partnerships with Outriders Presents and the Cowboy Channel. Some are paid staff, others volunteer as part of their scholarship commitments, but every one of them leaves with dirt under their nails and real-world event experience that no textbook could teach.
And then there’s the women’s side. The Breakaway roping, clean, fast, and fierce, has become the centerpiece of the entire weekend. It fits the beach terrain, but it’s also symbolic. “Our team’s about sixty-five percent female,” Londo notes. “The Breakaway event gives them the spotlight they deserve.” Watching a string of Cal Poly women rope with the ocean at their back isn’t just photogenic, it’s proof that women’s rodeo is having its moment, and this event is part of that surge.
Community response has been equally strong. Locals who once wandered by with their morning coffee now plan vacations around it. City and county crews, from fire to highway patrol, show up to help. And alumni, they’ve come charging back, proud to claim a piece of Cal Poly tradition that’s now literally making waves.
Looking ahead, Londo sees Break-a-Wave evolving into a world-class Western showcase, complete with concerts, new sponsors, and maybe even collaborations with other beach sports. But he’s the first to admit it’s still growing one tide at a time. “You can’t fake this backdrop,” he says. “Watching broncs buck with the sun setting over the ocean, there’s just nothing like it anywhere else.”
From what began as a pandemic experiment, the Break-a-Wave has turned into something much bigger, a symbol of Western grit, California pride, and Cal Poly’s brand of get-your-hands-dirty innovation. Out here, the sand might be soft, but the cowboys sure aren’t.
