Rockyford Rodeo a success

Andrea Roberts
Times Intern

 

It was a successful weekend as around 400 competitors came out to showcase their skills at the 59th Annual Rockyford Lions and Ag Society Rodeo July 22-24.
“As mayor of our community it makes me proud to see that size of event take place in our community,” said Darcy Burke, Rockyford’s mayor. “It certainly promotes our rural heritage and the grassroots throughout Alberta in a way that is really dear to rural Alberta.”
The slack events took place on July 22 when a number of overflow competitors showed what they are made of. The Saturday started off with a free pancake breakfast followed by a parade, both of which were well attended, according to Burke.
There were a number of events showcased during the weekend, such as calf roping, barrel racing and steer wrestling, with many of the events broken into different age groups.
Sunday’s rodeo had slightly fewer attendees than the Saturday show, but the event had a rise in revenues from last year’s event despite not raising the entrance fee.
“This year the gate was up a little bit from last year,” said Warren Kalbhen, arena manager. “That’s pretty good because we are going through a recession right now and the Calgary Stampede dropped a bit on their attendance. So if we maintain or go up then that is good for sure.”
Kalbhen also said it was a good event as no animal or contestant was badly injured.