BARRHEAD – After 35 years, Barrhead is no longer be the home of the Wildrose Rodeo Association (WRA) finals.
The Barrhead Agricultural Society learned during the Halloween weekend that they were not successful in winning the bid for another three years.
Barrhead has hosted the WRA finals since 1989, except for in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, and the Ag Society has organized the event for that entire 35-year run.
"Obviously, we are disappointed," said Barrhead Agricultural Society president Jackie Miller.
She said the WRA told them that the two bids submitted to host the finals were more or less equal, with the only difference being that Barrhead had one less performance scheduled. The only other bidder, Rimbey, had five performances scheduled.
The Ag Society believed they would not be penalized as some other stops on the WRA circuit had also decided to go with four performances.
The WRA boasts more than 600 members and annually sponsors a circuit of between 30 and 40 rodeo events in communities mostly in central to northern Alberta.
The Challenge or rodeo finals is the final event of the WRA circuit and is the association's showcase event. It features the competitors who have earned the Top 10 point totals in each of the seven core rodeo events (bull riding, bareback and saddleback riding, calf roping, team roping, steer wrestling and ladies barrel racing). It also features the Top 6 junior-point leaders who will compete in the steer riding, bull riding, breakaway roping, and barrel racing events.
WRA president Glen Nash confirmed the main reason the board opted for the Rimbey bid was due to the extra performance.
"(The five performances) is something we've been doing for several years, and we did not want to go backwards," Nash told the Barrhead Leader on Oct. 31.
It was a risk some Ag Society board members mentioned during a June 21 public meeting, in which they were attempting to augment their volunteer base to ensure they had enough of a volunteer commitment before they decided to go forward with their bid.
What makes it especially disappointing, Miller said, is that the news comes after the society hosted one of its most successful rodeos.
"Change can be scary, but when one door closes, it opens the door to other possibilities. With one less event to plan it frees us up to look for other opportunities and perhaps bring something new to the community because that is what we do this for, is for the community," she said.
County of Barrhead reeve Doug Drozd was disappointed to learn that the society's attempt to win the bid was unsuccessful.
"That's a shame. The finals are a big part of Barrhead. It is a tribute to our agricultural producers and our ag heritage," he said, also noting the event is an economic driver for the area.
Drozd also commented on how much the entire community rallies around the finals.
"I know the county contributes something like $10,000 of work in-kind, bringing in equipment to help transform the Agrena into a rodeo area," he said.
Because of the need for summer ice to transform the Agrena's ice rink into a rodeo arena, the Town of Barrhead spreads a layer of wood chips onto the ice. The county then brings several loads of dirt from the ag society grounds and layers it on top of the woodchips.
When this is complete, Ag Society volunteers put up all the gates and metalwork to complete the process. At the end of the rodeo, the whole process begins again, only in reverse.
"It is a big job to do all that," Drozd said.
However, Drozd suggested the Ag Society may decide to replace the event with something else, mentioning the possibility of a professional bull rider event.
"But that will be up to the society. All these types of events are a lot of work, and it takes a lot of volunteers," he said, suggesting the society might want to take a breather before attempting to take on a similar event.
Town of Barrhead mayor Dave McKenzie learned that the Ag Society had lost its bid to host the finals through an e-mail by Coun. Anthony Oswald.
"It's unfortunate. The rodeo finals has been a mainstay here for so long," he said. "Whenever you put in a bid like this, there are no guarantees, and the event is going to be sorely missed by the community. But the one thing the Ag Society has proven time and time again is how resilient they are ... and if the rodeo is not going to be part of their yearly events, I am sure they will find a suitable replacement."
