Giddy-up and go to Cereal’s weekend of rodeo!
By Joan Janzen
joanjanzen@yahoo.com
Rodeo enthusiasts will be heading to the Cereal Rodeo on the weekend of August 27 to 29th to enjoy a full weekend of rodeo! Sarah Grover, president of the Cereal & District Athletic Association for the past two years, said the weekend will kick off on Friday with a family ride.
“We have a family ride on Friday where families bring their horses and ride in our rodeo grounds. The booth will be open (operated by Oyen Daycare volunteers), families will be bringing their trailers and enjoying the rodeo for the weekend,” Sarah said. “We’re preparing for anywhere from 300 to 500 people. I think people are treating it as a weekend event.”
Sarah explained that Richard Houston from Oyen is organizing the rodeo. “He brought the event to us last year and asked if he could run the event on our rodeo grounds. It was a huge success last year.” Last year’s event was smaller, but this year’s event will be complete with a concession booth, beer gardens and camping spots available.
“We, as an association, provide the grounds, open the concession, run the 50/50, and we added the beer gardens. Richard looks after the rodeo aspect, getting the riders, horses, and we provide the advertising,” Sarah explained. Over 25 riders in the Bronc Bash for Cash will compete for $5,000 in prize money, with the action beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 28.
On Sunday, the kids’ rodeo kicks off at 10 a.m. for kids ages 4-18 slotted into Pee Wee, Intermediate and Senior divisions. Events include mutton busting, wild pony racing, steer riding, barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, goat un-decorating, thread the needle, and the newest event is breakaway roping.
Nicole Duque, the kids’ rodeo coordinator, said the kids’ rodeo has been taking place for almost ten years. They get close to 100 contestants every year, and it looks like this year’s rodeo will be no exception.
“We have a great athletic club, and we love doing stuff like this. It takes a whole day, starting at 10 a.m. and ending at 4 p.m., but it’s so enjoyable and so worth it,” she said. “We get kids from Kindersley, Medicine Hat, Three Hills, Wainwright; they keep coming back every year until they’re too old to enter. It’s a way of life for them.”
Nicole has been helping organize the rodeo every year and says it gets easier each year as they learn how to work out all the details. She was happy to note they had fifteen local sponsors come on board who help ensure everything is up to code and provide good stock and prizes. Nicole is planning something a little different for prizes this year.
“I decided to contact kids who are entrepreneurs, who make their own products. One kid makes halters, and some local kids make lip balm. This way, we’re able to give that sponsor money back to kids to build their businesses. We should have about 60 prizes, and the names get put in a hat, so you don’t have to be the best to win,” Nicole explained.
The Cowboy Kindness Award is new this year. All the contestants vote for someone who helped them or was kind to them throughout the day. Whoever gets the most votes gets a first or second prize. The prizes will be halters that say ‘Cowboy Kindness Award 2021’.
PHOTO SUBMITTED: Mutton busting is an event to help learn the skills needed for steer riding. The contestants are 6 years and under. This 2019 contestant rode the sheep in a horizontal position parallel to the ground adding to the difficulty of the event.
