WAIMEA, Hawai'i — While much of America celebrates Independence Day with parades and family cookouts, cowboys on the Big Island mark it with a rodeo.

Parker Ranch hosts dozens of cowboys, or paniolo, for competition and a celebration of Hawai'i's ranching heritage.

"In Hawai'i, the early rodeo in Na'alehu was always on the Fourth of July. It was a huge weekend," said Billy Bergin, co-founder of the Paniolo Preservation Society. "You celebrate the cowboy life with a rodeo, not fireworks. The independence of cowboys and the freedom of the range are synonymous with the Fourth of July."

Bergin, a veterinarian who has worked decades on Big Island ranches, said the 46th annual Parker Ranch Horse Races and Rodeo is paying special tribute to three cowboys who traveled far from their island homes to compete in the 1908 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo in Wyoming.

"They came home with a national championship," Bergin said. "Hawai'i's paniolo heritage really means paying homage to the cowboys of the century gone by."

Ikua Purdy, born at Parker Ranch in 1873, made history in Wyoming when he won the world roping championship in 56 seconds flat. Fellow cowboys Archie Kaaua and Jack Low also did well, placing third and sixth respectively, all on borrowed horses.

Brandi Beaudet, rodeo chairman and Parker Ranch cowboy, said the event, with its origins stretching back to World War II, has become something of a reunion.

"This is becoming quite a tradition," he said. "Parker Ranch put on the rodeo for the soldiers training here at Camp Tarawa. Then, a few years ago, we started inviting our neighbors over for some good, clean rodeo fun."

The Waimea rodeo differs from others, Beaudet said, because all the participants are working cowboys, not professional rodeo entertainers.

"These guys are all cowboys 24/7. They live the life," he said. "This event is time for the ranches to get together, have some fun, rekindle old friendships and entertain the community."

Among those who were entertained was the Parmiter family from Fairfield, Conn.

"We belong to a riding club and do have competitions, but I prefer this because I grew up in Texas," said Leslie Parmiter, 53. "This is more my style."