The Barrhead and District Agricultural Society has gone to great effort to make sure this year’s annual Blue Heron Fair Days has something for everyone, but president Randy Schmidt said at the heart of the event is the rodeo.
The Blue Heron Fair Days Rodeo runs Aug. 11 and 12, with action beginning at 1 p.m. each day. On Aug. 12, there will also be a slack event starting at 8 a.m. and a gymkhana at 10 a.m.
More than 150 competitors are expected to take part in this year’s rodeo, which is part of the Wildrose Rodeo Association (WRA) series.
The 34-event season starts in early April and cumulates in September with the finals, which are also held in Barrhead.
“All the big events, what we call the big seven, will be here: bareback, saddle bronc, calf roping, team roping, steer wrestling, barrel racing along with bull riding,” Schmidt said. “It should be really competitive. The Miller Rodeo Company will be providing our stock and they always have great animals and since we are part of the WRA everyone will be vying for valuable points so they can qualify for the finals.”
In addition, the rodeo will feature a number of events geared towards junior competitors.
Perhaps the most popular is the sheep ride. Each day 10 children, six years old and under, compete to see who is the best sheep rider. The object of the event is to see who can stay on their sheep the longest.
“A task easier said than done,” Schmidt said.
As a memento for competing, each child receives a special belt buckle.
Back by popular demand is the boot scramble, where kids 12 and under get a chance to prove how quickly they can put on their cowboy boots. Each competitor has to remove their footwear and put them into a large pile, where they are mixed up in the middle of the arena. Kids then have to line up at a start line, and when the gun is sounded they have to race to the pile, find their own boots, put them on and then rush back to the finish line. The winner gets a brand new pair of cowboy boots.
Children will also get a chance to win a new bike in the calf scramble.
“The object of the event is to be the person lucky enough and quick enough to get the ribbon that is tied to the end of a calf’s tail,” he said. “The kids just love it and for the audience, it’s fun to watch.”
Two bikes will be awarded each day.
One of the rodeo’s features Schmidt is most excited about is the return of rodeo clown Tyson Wagner.
“Tyson really brings a lot of not only humour but his energy, and how he is able to engage the crowd just enhances the rodeo performances just that much more,” he said.
