Fifty-five participants from 4-H clubs around Alberta and Saskatchewan were at Olds College on August 24 and 25, honing their horsemanship skills and getting lessons on the finer points of rodeo.
The rodeo, normally held at the Calgary Stampede grounds, has been hosted at Olds College for the past two years, while facilities at the Stampede undergo renovations. The rodeo is scheduled to move back to the Stampede grounds in 2014.
“It's because Stampede is going through massive growth and transformation. The arena (that) we would normally use, everything is under construction and we didn't have a home and Olds College graciously allowed us to come up here and use their facilities,” said Laura Frank, chair of the Calgary Stampede 4-H Rodeo.
The two days of afternoon rodeo events — such as thread the needle, pole bending, barrel racing, goat tying, steer daubing, breakaway roping and cow riding – were preceded in the morning by clinics in which participants received instruction on various aspects of animal care and even yoga for the participants themselves. Topics such as how to load a horse into a trailer, saddle a horse and veterinary care for the horses were discussed with the participants.
“It's a safe environment to practise rodeo,” Frank said.
Hailey Foss and Erika Olsen, both members of the Ropes and Reins 4-H Club in Olds, were the only Olds competitors who took part in the rodeo. Olsen said the purpose of the club is to teach members about riding horses in both the western and English disciplines. Both girls have been in 4-H for four years and are 13 years old.
Foss, who finished second in intermediate pole bending and third in the thread the needle competition, said the clinics were a great help in learning different aspects of animal care.
“It's been really fun. The clinics have helped us a lot,” she said. “I did pretty good in the pole bending and the thread the needle.”
Olsen said she was pleased with her performance in the intermediate thread the needle—where she placed fourth— barrel racing and pole bending competitions, even though she didn't place in the top five in the latter two events.
“I'm just trying to work with my horse, because you're a team,” she said.
