Plumbing 
Tomas Garcilazo Charro on the Road|Facebook
Hollywood, a Utopia-born specialty-act horse who has now retired after more than 20 years in the entertainment industry.
Many fans of rodeo and the Cowboy Channel on television have seen the beautiful palomino stallion known as “Hollywood” and his owners, the Garcilazo family, perform specialty acts featuring trick roping and other Charro skills.
This unique animal’s rider often carries the American flag in the grand entries of the professional rodeos as did Kristy Noem, governor of South Dakota, at the National Final Rodeo in Las Vegas in December.
Hollywood was born in 2002 on the L.A. Waters Ranch in Utopia. His sire was Hollywood Dun It and his dam a beautiful Colonel Freckles mare, A Lotta Clout. His registered name is Latigo Dun It, but his beauty led to the nickname Hollywood. He made his way to Mexico after selling at an auction as a yearling and Tomas Garcilazo purchased him and soon made him the star of his Charro act.
For the last 20 years Garcilazo and Hollywood have traveled across America performing their amazing act for appreciative audiences. They have been named Specialty Act of the Year by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association numerous times.
Hollywood is known for his long flowing mane and tail and even has his own Breyer horse model. Tomas and Justine Garcilazo now have three young boys who can often be seen riding Hollywood and the older son Louis helps his father perform. They brought the boys to Utopia while performing in the San Antonio Rodeo a few years ago so they could see where Hollywood was born and meet the mare that gave him life.
As this new 2024 professional rodeo season gets underway Garcilazo announced that Hollywood is officially retiring and has performed his last act as part of the Charro show.
The Waters family has been raising Quarter horses in Utopia for 50 years and their Colonel Freckles breeding offspring are known for their even dispositions, good minds and sure footing. This proved very true in the case of Hollywood and he will be missed across the rodeo circuit.
Utopia High School student Jace Bennett and Coach Larry Bonnett at the National Pole Vault Summit, where they placed first and second in their respective competitions. The event took place Jan. 11-13 in Reno, Nevada. The event is divided into categories for beginners, high schoolers, college student, open, masters, coaches, and parents. Bennett won first place with a jump of 14 feet, 6 inches, and Bonnett won second place with a jump of 7 feet, 6 inches.
School happenings
The Eagle Pass and Del Rio Workforce Solutions Middle Rio Grande coaches recently brought 20 Virtual Reality Career Exploration sets for students in sixth through 12th grades to experience different careers in realistic simulation. Students were able to try to perform a knee replacement, visit a wreck as an EMS first responder, repair a power line on top of a tower and many others. What a wonderful experience for these youngsters. As a young girl in the 1960s I only knew of a few suitable careers for women. Wouldn’t it have been wonderful to try out some options.
The Arts and Crafts Guild volunteers recently helped the second-graders make paper jar luminaries. The kids always enjoy the projects the ladies bring to their classes. Some FFA students are enrolled in a dog grooming class and are conducting a dog salon for community pets. They are doing a great job but slots are full till March just in case your Spot needs to go to the beauty shop.
Around Town
Utopia 4-H and FFA students did a great job at the Uvalde County Junior Livestock Show. From photographs to major year-long projects the kids brought lots of prizes back to the canyon. It’s fun to watch the young people of all ages. The youngest are eager but scared, some are all about the job at hand and taking it seriously, some really tired from hours of work on their projects at the last minute and some just there for the socialization and games back in the barn, but all these are important lessons in life.
Thanks to all the many adult volunteers and parents who worked tirelessly to help the young people compete in this memorable experience.
