The cowboys and cowgirls of the BlackCreek Rodeo circuit rode into Ormstown for the start of a wild three-day roundup to cap the season.
The Ormstown Kioti Pro Rodeo Finals featured two sold-out evening shows on October 4 and 5, along with a matinee performance on October 6.
All three action-packed rodeos included fan-favourite events such as bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, team roping, break-away roping, barrel racing, steer wrestling, and of course, bull riding.
During some breaks from the rodeo action, trick rider Courtney Jean Schum awed the crowds while rodeo entertainer and trick roper Austin Stewart impressed with his skills with the lasso. To the crowd’s delight, some very brave little greenhorns also mustered the courage to test some frisky sheep during the mutton-busting event.
“It seemed like the crowd was really, really into it again,” says Shawn Fisher of the Black Creek Rodeo Company, who confirmed it was a good decision to come back to Ormstown for their first-ever rodeo finals after starting the season at the fairgrounds in May.
“The atmosphere is really good,” explains Fisher. “It is a compact little building. There are 1,600 or 1,700 people in there, but it feels like 20,000 because it’s so tight,” he adds. “It’s a good, good spot.”
Fisher says the competitors were also happy with the venue and the decision to hold the event over three days. “Typically rodeo competitors are going to two, three, or four rodeos a weekend, so they run, the get in the truck and trailer and go to another one. This time, everyone was just kind of hanging out and having a good time,” he explains.
Only the top ten rodeo athletes in the open events from the season were invited to compete in the championship round, along with the top two riders in the novice or junior events. A hospitality tent was set up for competitors, with free snacks and meals supplied largely by local restaurants, businesses, and producers. “As a competitor, it would have been fun,” says Fisher of the more laid-back weekend.
He says that while they are still working on wrapping up this season, the tentative plan is to return to Ormstown to start the season in May. “We’ll see how everything plays out,” he says, while suggesting there is also good reason to believe they will be back in the Valley for the finals again next fall.