"Well it's bulls and blood; It's dust and mud; It's the roar of a Sunday crowd; It's the white in his knuckles; The gold in the buckle; He'll win the next go 'round," lyrics from Garth Brooks' song Rodeo is a testament to the strong resolve of the cowboy.
Two days of extreme excitement and action was found in Kennedy on Saturday, July 19, and Sunday, July 20.
The event comes as the 82nd annual Moose Mountain Pro Rodeo. The event dates back to 1934 with Rev. Bill Gourlay organizing a family outing on "Shackleton Flats." Ever since the 1st annual rodeo was held the community has embraced the event.
Though it makes for an entertaining weekend, the community is also happy to support the rodeo as they use the money to not only improve the rodeo grounds, but to support local organizations and athletes.
At 11 a.m. on July 19 a parade was held with local businesses and community members organizing floats. With candy tossed out and excited children the annual parade was again a success.
Following the parade down Main Street, people made their way to the fairgrounds where a demolition derby was being held and a kids' carnival was up and running. Both of these events were then held the next day as well to the excitement of the crowd.
The rodeo held was a dual sanctioned rodeo within the Professional Canadian Rodeo Association (PCRA) and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA).
The rodeo saw a variety of contestants in all the rodeo events including steer wrestling, team roping, bull riding, tie down roping, novice bareback, novice saddle bronc, novice steer wrestling, bareback, steer riding, ladies barrel racing, and saddle bronc.
Professional stock was provided by Big Stone Rodeo, while local stock contractor Prime Time Rodeos provided the bucking stock for the novice contestants.
People filled the stands both days, with more arriving on the Sunday than the Saturday event, though both days saw many people interested in celebrating the roots of the west.
As the competition heated up the crowd cheered while Crash Cooper the rodeo clown and Brett Gardiner, announcer, bantered and explained the events.
In the end the results came in to the Pro Rodeo Canada website with Ty Taypotat earning first in bareback with 83.5 points winning $977.97.
Steer wrestlers ended with Justin Miller and Cody Cassidy tied at 3.3 seconds earning them $1,374.48 each.
Team roping had Riley Roy and Cole Bevans take first at 4.6 seconds taking home $1,008.75 each.
The saddle bronc event went to Tyler Corrington with a high 87.5 points leaving him with $987.08 earned.
Al Bouchard took first in tie-down roping with 7.7 seconds winning $1,340.66.
Ladies barrel racing had Britany Diaz go through with a quick 15.230 second run earning $942.78.
Brock Radford took the bull riding win with a score of 87.5 points earning him $905.30.
Within the novices, Buck Moen scored 68.5 points as a bareback rider earning $403.52, while Lane Cust earned 75 points in the saddle bronc event winning $388. Nick Tetz then earned 80.5 points in the steer riding to take home $407.40.
The event saw great weather and a fantastic turnout to mark the 82nd annual event making the committee, volunteers, and attendees extremely happy with the success of the rodeo once again.
