Holstein Rodeo!

This past weekend, the corner of 49 and 14 transformed into it’s own little village for the 7th Holstein Rodeo!  With nearly 1,000 weekend passes sold in advance, the 3 hayfields that are normally used to feed the A bar K stock were quickly filled with temporary homes to excited and jubilant 2 legged animals. 

The festivities began this year on Thursday night with a full line up for Team Penning.  The action went right into the dark.   It was a real treat for those who had never seen this sport before.

An unbelievably beautiful day on Friday set the stage for what would turn out to be record-breaking crowds for the evening performance.  By 6:30 pm the stands were nearly at full capacity awaiting a 7 pm start. No one would be disappointed that night.  On schedule the popular A bar K Colour Guard entered the arena proudly carrying the flags of all the generous sponsors and were promptly followed by the Cowboys and Cowgirls who would entertain the crowd. 

This Holstein crowd was in for a treat of their lives.  A bar K then proudly released all of their prized bucking horses into the arena as Al Foster and Ray Smith show cased these beautiful animals.  The chills and Goosebumps were evident in the crowd as these horses got the recognition they deserve as such phenomenal athletes.

An unbelievably large entry list gave the patrons much more than their money’s worth.

Friday night, the tent immediately filled in anticipation.  Jason Blaine showed what a true entertainer he is and wowed the crowd as he lit up the stage for Shane Yellowbird.    Shane didn’t let a little lost luggage distract him from putting on a million dollar show!

Saturday morning arrived early with a great breakfast buffet put on by the volunteers.  Soon after a huge slack performance began.  The rodeo fans knew that this was as good a show as the afternoon and filled the stands.  With only a small break in between it was soon time to start the show!
As it seems to have become tradition on Saturday, the blue skies took a break and the rain took over.  But also in true Holstein tradition, it merely meant pulling on a raincoat and putting up an umbrella and those stands were packed again.  The rain didn’t distract any of our cowboys and cowgirls and they put on a tremendous show.

Brian Norman’s bucking bulls were at the top of their game, showing us all how important Jeremy Schuitema and Ciaran Hester are.  These 2 bullfighters showed their expertise taking hits and saving lives.

Ernie Marshall from Wainwright, Alberta brought comic joy to the event and entertained the kids.

There was just enough time to enjoy one of the 1800 Steaks that were BBQ’d up by the volunteers before Megan Morrison came on to give us what many said is her best performance to date.  The energy radiating from this local girl got the crowd rocking.  Big Mike Callan had a big pair of shoes to fill when he came on next.  His “drinking songs” I am sure contributed to the bar selling out of 60 kegs, 20 – 24’s, 280- 40 pounders and 800 coolers!  Doc Walker’s performance put a glistening touch to the end of the evening.  There is no doubt that a good time was had by all!

Sunday morning brought back the sunshine and another full set of stands to enjoy the slack.  It was like having 2 shows in one day!

At the 2pm performance, there wasn’t a seat to be had and all grass areas were quickly transformed into viewing areas as the competitors showed us they meant business!

As the last of the trailers pulled out, we can only say Hats Off! To the Egremont Optimist ,Mount Forest Fireworks Festival Volunteers and to Al & Karyn Foster for hosting the best ever Holstein Rodeo and to all of the competitors who traveled to give your fans a show they will never forget!

AT EACH RODEO UNIMIN WILL SUPPLY 3 MONTH OF PRODUCT TO A RANDOM WINNER IN THE LADIES BARRELS. IN THE STEER WRESTLING A SHIRT AND A $25 GAS COUPON WILL BE AWARDED. 

AT THE HOLSTEIN RODEO UNIMUN IS ALSO PUTTING UP HORSE COOLERS. THANK YOU UNIMIN. HOLSTEIN RODEO IS PUTTING UP BRONZES FOR WEEKEND WINNERS IN EACH EVENT AND ALSO AN ALL ROUND SADDLE SPONSORED BY EGREMONT OPTIMIST AND STOLTZ .

MANITOULIN ISLAND JULY 5-6  -  (2) $500 DOLLAR PRIZES ADDED.