BONNYVILLE – With Alberta officially opening for the summer, the Bonnyville Ag Society has been busy preparing to celebrate.
From July 9 to 11, the local rodeo grounds will be buzzing with excitement during the Bonnyville Pro Rodeo and Xtreme Indian Relay Races.
“It’s the first rodeo in a year-and-a-half and, officially, the first sanctioned rodeo in Canada this year,” explained Mitch Michaud, president of the Bonnyville Ag Society.
He added, “We’re very excited to have the season opener for the Xtreme Indian Relay Racing. We’re really excited about that. We’re happy to be working with them and, hopefully, we’ll get a good partnership and we’ll be part of the circuit next year.”
The action at the ag grounds isn’t all residents have to look forward to. The Let’s Go Lakeland Parade is set to kick off the festivities on July 9 along main street in Bonnyville at 2 p.m.
Serina Parsons, executive director of the Bonnyville and District Chamber of Commerce, said they wanted to organize the event to celebrate the area and “everything that we’ve been through in the last year-and-a-half.”
“It’s been a long time. We’ve all been struggling with the pandemic and its restrictions,” she explained. “I think it’s time for us to get together again. It’s time for us to get some sense of normalcy and it’s time for us to celebrate the Lakeland region and how resilient and versatile we really have all been throughout the course of the pandemic.”
The gates open at the rodeo grounds at 5:30 p.m., with the rodeo performance starting at 7 p.m.
The following day, the relay races begin at 2 p.m. and the rodeo will once again kick-off at 7 p.m.
The weekend will finish with the relay racing finals at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
This will be the second time the Xtreme Indian Relay Racing has made a stop at the Bonnyville rodeo grounds after an event was held in May 2019 when Kehewin Cree Nation hosted the season opener in town.
The sport sees riders, known as warriors, jumping onto thoroughbreds bareback and completing three laps around the track. After each lap is done, the warrior must jump off one horse and onto another. Another teammate known as the mugger, or catcher, waits to grab the horse the warrior jumps off of, while the two holders keep the fresh horses out of the way and ready for their turn. The team with the fastest time wins.
When Alberta’s Open for Summer Plan was announced, the ag society hit the ground running organizing a rodeo with a fraction of the time they typically have to put one together.
“It does take a ton of work to put something together like that. Most of the time, we have a year to plan for it. This time, we’ve had a month pretty much. Things are very hectic but we’re getting all of our ducks in a row.”
Michaud encouraged everyone to attend the event over the upcoming weekend.
“We’ve been cooped up for over a year and a half,” he exclaimed. “Support local. I know we have a lot of local racers and we have a lot of local people that support us. We just want people to have a nice, relaxing (time). Come out and enjoy yourself.”
Robynne Henry, Bonnyville Nouvelle
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