PRO RODEO ACTION ROLLS IN TO COOMBS, BC AND MEDICINE HAT AND BRUCE, AB
July 23 , 2009

The first Bruce Stampede was held in 1914 and now, 96 years later, Canada’s oldest one-day rodeo is still going strong, thanks to a keen sense of community spirit and the support of rodeo fans and athletes.

According to Rob Chomik, president of the Bruce Stampede Association, an uncountable number of volunteers from the eastern Alberta village and surrounding area help make the event happen.

The pro rodeo action gets underway at 1 p.m. on July 26 at the Bruce Stampede grounds, just 108 km east of Edmonton, Alta. and Chomik, suspects there’ll be around 2,000 people arriving in the town of about 50 for the event, a similar number to last year’s attendance.

Admission to the pro rodeo is $15 for adults, and free for 12 and under. There’s also a local rodeo performance the day before, followed by the pro rodeo slack performance that evening.

“The times for the slack used to be Sunday morning, and now it’s Saturday night,” Chomik said. “We thought it would help us spread things out, and it would help the guys traveling to La Crete on Sunday.”

Chomik noted that approximately 190 contestants are entered in the rodeo, which features all six major rodeo events and horse racing.

“That’s part of the reason we moved the slack to Saturday night,” he said, laughing a little. “We don’t have much room for all them people. That’s a lot of contestants for one little area.”

Also happening this week is the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede in southern Alberta. The pro rodeo starts on July 23 and runs through July 25 and features all six major rodeo events, plus team roping and novice roughstock events.

The 33rd annual Coombs Pro Rodeo kicks off on July 24. This is the first year that the Vancouver Island rodeo has been added to the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association’s (C.P.R.A.) schedule. The two-day rodeo starts on Friday at 6 p.m. and at 1 p.m. continues at on Saturday afternoon.