Yee-haw its rodeo time once again in Highridge.
The Highridge Agriculture Society on July 8 will be hosting its 16th annual Highridge Rodeo. Admission is $5.
The rodeo features all the popular rodeo events like team roping, tie down roping, breakaway roping, barrel racing, bronc and bareback riding and the most popular event, bull riding.
The Highridge rodeo is an amateur event, meaning competitors cannot be a carded professional. As a result the event is able to attract a large age range of athletes from children, teens, and even seniors.
Young said the event is an amateur rodeo, meaning competitors don’t have to have a ticket or certification from a rodeo association, which means the Highridge rodeo often has a wider range of ages children, teens, to those who regularly participate on the seniors circuit.
“And just because it isn’t a professional rodeo, doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of talent and competition,” society director Calvin Young said.
Typically the rodeo draws anywhere between 100 and 300 competitors, this year about 150 have registered.
“In the last couple of years our numbers have decreased slightly,” he said, adding he believes the reason being more competition from the Wildrose circuit, which has three rodeos within 150 miles of Highridge. “That takes away some people who might have traditionally come.
Young also noted that recently there haven’t been as many youth enteries.
“It tends to be circular in nature, where we have a couple years where we go down a bit, but it always comes back up,” Young said.
However, for the younger crowd that have entered they will have plenty of opportunity to show off their skills in such categories as junior steer (14 and under), junior barrels (11-16), junior steer wrestling (11-16), junior breakaway roping (16 and under) and a wild pony race (10-14). For the very young: pee wee barrels (10 and under), and calf riding (10 and under).
Action starts at 9 a.m. with athletes competing to qualify for the finals rodeo at 1 p.m.
“It’s a lot of entertainment for your money,” Young said.
Food and drinks will be available at the concession stand and for those 18 years-old and older there will be a beer garden.
In the evening the society will also be hosting a dance at the Highridge Community Hall starting at 9:30 p.m.
