FCA Finals coming to Strathmore

By Adelle Ellis, Times Reporter

The Strathmore and District Agricultural Society has been successful in their plans of taking a leadership role in rodeo in Western Canada by successfully winning the bid to host the 2019 Foothills Cowboy Association (FCA) Cowboy Classic Finals.
This puts Strathmore on the map as a leading town for hosting rodeo events and for raising rodeo athletes.
The FCA Cowboy Classic Finals will be held Sept. 13-15 at the Strathmore ag grounds.
The FCA is a semi-pro rodeo association. Rodeo athletes who want to compete in the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) get their start with the FCA before being raised up to the CPRA circuit.
For a number of years, the FCA Finals were held in Red Deer. This is the first year the finals will be held outdoors instead of in an indoor arena.
“I think that it’s a big step forward for the Strathmore Agricultural Society … we are very happy to welcome all these cowboys and cowgirls and rodeo athletes to Strathmore and hope that we can show them a wonderful experience here,” said Ryan Schmidt, CEO of the Strathmore and District Agricultural Society.
To qualify for the FCA Finals, athletes have to compete in a minimum of 10 rodeos during the season with a minimum of 50 per cent of those, to a maximum of seven, being FCA “mother” sanctioned rodeos. The Top 10 athletes in the open division for each event and the Top 6 in juniors get to go to the FCA Finals.
The FCA Finals will bring to Strathmore a lot of rodeo athletes, their families and friends, and residents are welcome to attend and watch the rodeo stars of the future.
Schmidt noted that winning the bid to host the finals is not only important for the ag society and for the town’s branding and reputation as the heart of rodeo in southern Alberta, but also for the economic benefits that it brings to the town.
“For the Strathmore Agricultural Society, we’ve made it a priority to make Strathmore the home of rodeo in southern Alberta,” said Schmidt. “We want Strathmore to be known as the place where rodeo really excels, athletes are grown and where the best championships are held. It was important for us to win this bid and we think it’s going to be really important for the town.”
This year has included a full roster of rodeo events through the ag society, including the Strathmore Stampede, the High School Rodeo, rodeo schools and now the FCA Finals. The ag society is looking at adding even more agricultural and rodeo events in the coming years.
The rush seating tickets are $20 each per performance and are available at the gate or ahead of time online (strathmoreag.com).