INNISFAIL – Like all great cowboys the Daines family has dusted off the past challenging 17 months and everyone is ready to put on another time-honoured Central Alberta tradition.
This one is extra special because it will be the 60th anniversary of the Daines Ranch Pro Rodeo, which was supposed to celebrated in 2020 but cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kyle Daines, one of the family organizers for the event, said the local rodeo will be held Sept. 2, 3 and 4 at the legendary 20-acre Daines Rodeo Ranch, located just six kilometres north of Innisfail off the C & E Trail.
“It’s actually an unbelievable feeling. We’ve got the family and a whole bunch of friends that want to help out and bear down. We are making it happen. It’s cool to bring it back to town,” said Daines, a retired professional saddle bronc rider. “This is a huge thing, just to get people back to normal and get their freedom again.
“For everybody it’s a huge stress off their shoulders,” added Daines. “Everybody has been through a lot in the last 18 months and this a place where everybody can go out and kick loose again and watch a really good rodeo.”
Tickets for the three-day rodeo are $25 for each day. A weekend pass is going for $60. The event once again will feature some of the best rodeo and men and women in the sport in all disciplines, but there will be one difference with the performances for the 60th anniversary event.
“They will start in the light and we will finish under the lights in the dark,” said Daines, adding in previous years they were always held during the day time. “It’s just so people can finish work, have dinner if they want, take their time and haul the holiday trailers out and then we can start the rodeo at seven o’clock.
“It’s on Thursday and Friday and on the long weekend,” he added. “If they want to bring the trailer down on Thursday and take work off Friday it works pretty good.”
The rodeo will be boosted by a kick-off Sportsman Dinner at the Daines Ranch on Aug. 19, a fundraiser for the September rodeo that will feature three Sutter brothers – Darryl, Brent and Brian.
It will also have Glen O’Neill, a native Australian and former Canadian and world saddle bronc riding champion who became the first contestant from outside North America to be inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
“That’s just kind of a fun night that we will have out at the ranch. It’s kind of a kick off party, what it is,” said Daines, adding almost the 112 tickets available for the event have been sold out.
For more information on the 60th annual Daines Ranch Pro Rodeo go to its website at dainesranch.ca, or follow the event on Facebook and Instagram. Anyone interested in the upcoming event can also call Kyle Daines at 403-598-0311.
