The proposal before the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors would have directed counsel Ann Ravel to draft an ordinance banning rodeos and circuses on all county-owned property effective Jan. 1.

The ordinance would lead to "a slippery slope," said Supervisor Don Gage. "If you ban rodeos and circuses, how about dog shows, cat shows. There are some people who don't agree with those. How about (Future Farmers of America) when they show their animals."

On Feb. 12, supervisors initially voted 3-2 to draft an ordinance specifically targeting two Mexican-style rodeo exercises known as "steer tailing" and "horse tripping."

Supervisors were in part reacting to complaints about events at Rancho Grande in Morgan Hill and other county ranches. At the same meeting, the board voted to conduct a study on the rodeos and circuses.

Yet, at a meeting this morning, the tenor had changed. Supervisor Liz Kniss said she was not comfortable voting to direct counsel to draft an ordinance without hearing the results of the study, which is expected to be completed this fall.

Kniss learned through the past two months of discussions that "not all rodeos are created equal, not all circuses are created equal."

The county has taken several steps to monitor rodeos and circuses held on county-owned property since the issue first arose in February, County Executive Pete Kutras told supervisors.

Following the board's last discussion, all agreements with rodeos were amended to include that a veterinarian be present during all the events and that the events are open to an unannounced inspection by county agricultural officials, he said.

An ordinance such as the one proposed could have a negative effect, Kutras said. Instead of leading to safer events, organizers might move their events off county property to unincorporated areas, where no county ordinances would be enforced.

Marilyn Dubil Marilyn Dubil covers Morgan Hill education and public safety for South Valley Newspapers. Send her an e-mail.