TEEPEE CREEK BUILDS ON 93 YEARS OF TRADITION
July 9 , 2009

It’s time for the 93rd annual Teepee Creek Stampede, one of Canada’s oldest running rodeos, and the third time the northern Alberta town has hosted a rodeo sanctioned by the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA).

Two days of rodeo action bursts out of the chutes July 11 and 12 at 1 p.m. each day, although there will be plenty of other activities to check out at the Stampede starting July 9, including a Little Britches rodeo.

“When we went from amateur to pro [in 2006] we had a lot of people disappointed because they couldn’t come and watch their kids, and a lot of us directors remember competing here as kids. It’s an important part of rodeo, and it’s important for the community, so we figured we’d add a Little Britches and make everybody happy,” says Lacey Stark, rodeo secretary for the Teepee Creek Stampede Association.

According to Stark, preparation for this year’s event has been going on “since the 92nd Stampede,” she laughs.

Joking aside, the 10-person committee does work diligently throughout the year, “and then we have a whole arsenal of volunteers that helps us on the weekend of,” Stark says of the annual event, which is very much a community-based endeavour.

This year, the finishing touches for the big weekend included building a new announcers booth, which rodeo announcer Brett Gardiner will have the honour of breaking in, “and a bunch of new stairs and catwalks behind the chutes,” Stark details. “We’ve also done a whole bunch of painting and track work.”

The Teepee Creek Stampede Association is expecting somewhere between six and 7,000 spectators through the gates, and emphasize the up-close and personal aspect of the rodeo action.

“It’s small, and it still has a small town feel to it. It’s not big and huge and commercialized, and it doesn’t cost you a gazillion dollars to get through the gate. It’s affordable. You can bring your whole family,” Stark says, adding, “and, bottom line, it’s a lot of fun.”

Some of that fun will be courtesy of Bert Davis the Coppertown Clown.

“With his dogs the Muttley Crew, so we’re pretty excited about that. I think he’ll put on a great show.”

The Harmon Valley Rodeo in Peace River, Alta. also runs July 11 and 12, with each performance beginning at 1 p.m.

Both the Harmon Valley Rodeo and the Teepee Creek Stampede are co-sanctioned by the CPRA and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and feature all six major rodeo events, as well as team roping, novice saddle bronc and novice bareback riding. The Harmon Valley Rodeo will also include two sets of contestants in the boys steer riding.