Rodeo riding high in Minnedosa
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/08/2015 (3688 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
MINNEDOSA — Decked out in a pink cowboy hat and a matching plaid shirt, Echo Desjardins, 8, makes her way around the competition ring on a big brown horse during the peewee barrel racing event at the Minnedosa Rodeo on Saturday.
Echo’s mom Megan cheers her on from the sidelines.
“It’s exciting, but at the same time it’s scary because the horses are so powerful,” said Megan, who usually competes as well but is taking the year off to get her three young kids into rodeo.
“It’s good for them to work with the horses. It gives them good skills like patience,” she says.
The Desjardins family, from McCreary, spends most of the summer participating in Manitoba’s Heartland Rodeo circuit and Megan says she likes how welcoming the Minnedosa Rodeo is.
“It’s very family orientated, everybody helps each other out and it’s just a good atmosphere,” she says.
Now in its 11th year, the three-day event has grown in popularity. Rodeo president Greg Woychyshyn says he has seen the number of competitors nearly double since last year.
“We’re the highest entered Heartland Rodeo in Manitoba this year,” he says. “We have 92 sets of team ropers, 24 senior bull riders, 14 junior bull riders and quite a few barrel racers.”
Woychyshyn says the rodeo’s hillside setting is a big draw for people.
This year, the rodeo christened its new location on the Minnedosa Agricultural Society Grounds — the event was forced to move after the Town of Minnedosa purchased the land it was using previously.
Organizers and volunteers spent six months changing pens and rebuilding fences on the new site.
“There were lots of man hours put in to get it done for this weekend,” said Woychyshyn.
Minnedosa Rodeo entrants of all ages compete in everything from calf roping to bull riding.
Mary-Anne Bach, from Anola, sits atop her eight-year-old paint mare Memphis after finishing a barrel race on Saturday afternoon.
“It felt like it could have been a little bit better. It was OK, it wasn’t outstanding,” said Bach of her time of 17.38 seconds.
Bach won’t know how she did this weekend until the results are officially posted Wednesday.
“We’re always hoping to win, but if you can’t win placing is good because you get points,” she says.
During the rodeo season, competitors work toward cash prizes and points that will take them to the finals in Carman on Sept. 12 and 13.
» ewasney@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @evawasney