Typically when you think of a rodeo, you pictures men and women in jeans and 10-gallon hats while riding horses, but it’s not often that you think of a rodeo where the animal being ridden is an all-terrain vehicle.
However, that’s exactly what was happening at the Battenfelder ATV Rodeo Sept. 17-18 at the Batt Traps Golf Course north of Barrhead.
Now in its ninth year, the rodeo was rebranded as the Henry Battenfelder Memorial Quad Rodeo this year in memory of its founder Henry Battenfelder, who passed away around Christmas last year.
The rodeo carries on, however, thanks to the work of Henry’s widow, Marg.
In the nine years it’s run, she said it’s continued to grow in terms of the number of people who have come out to take part and watch the competition.
However, she added that this year experienced a bit of a drop off, with only nine teams of four riders taking part.
In previous years, there would be around 18 teams, she said, with the aim being to break 20.
All told, she said she figures there were close to 100 people there on Saturday, which included the riders, spectators and crews.
Kevin Barnes is one of those riders who came out. As a self-professed adrenaline junkie, he said there are several reasons why he participates in the rodeo.
“I like that it’s a combination of speed, competition and racing,” he said. “Also, it’s to support the Battenfelders, who are a great family”
According to Barnes, there is nothing else in the world like a quad rodeo that challenges a person to master the individual, the machine and his or her teammates.
Don Battenfelder, who helped to put the rodeo together with Henry when it first started said things have changed to make the event less harmful for the quads themselves.
“It’s been refined over the years … because it used to be a machine wrecker,” he said.
Throughout its history, the rodeo has remained a family event, Barnes said. Women’s teams are always welcome, and nowhere else where you’ll find better people.
For more information and to see videos of the different events at the rodeo, visit www.battenfelderatvrodeo.com.
