This past Saturday, large crowds from around the Lakeland turned out for the annual Glendon Rough Stock Rodeo, which took place at the derby site roughly two miles north of the village.
Participants and fans viewed various rodeo events such as mutton busting and wild pony race for the kids as well as bareback, saddle bronc and bull riding for the many professional cowboys that attended.
The total number of spectators and riders made the late afternoon rodeo a success, according to Travis Aylesworth, the vice-president of the Glendon Ag Society.
“It was awesome. There was a great turnout,” Aylesworth said after the rodeo, adding both the viewers and participants enjoyed the new arena. The location of the rodeo was moved to improve spectator viewing, he said.
Another key to the continued success of the event is the quality of riders that turn up every year from both around the area and from overseas.
“They're great riders. Fifty per cent of these riders are professional,” he said. “We get riders from New Zealand, Mexico, all over the states. The reason being is our prize money is high. It really attracts the good cowboys and they're the crowd pleasers.
“They're what the crowd comes for,” he continued. “Year after year people talk about the Glendon rodeo because the bucking stock is phenomenal. The riders stick them and it's a great show.”
The winners for the three main rodeo events were Chad Randle for bareback, Kyrean Geiger in saddle bronc and Tuck Johnson for bull riding. Aylesworth said he was glad to see some local riders compete and hoped the kids’ events would encourage younger participants to come out.
“It's a good way to encourage these young kids to take an interest in agriculture and maybe become riders,” he added.
For next year's rodeo, the vice-president said they might add a heavy horse pull event and even bull poker if they find the right sponsor. The emphasis is always on pleasing the crowd, which seems to have helped grow the event each year.
Aylesworth would like to thank the Glendon Ag Society for helping put the rodeo on and all the rodeo's major sponsors that have been providing faithful sponsorships each year since the beginning.
He would also like to thank the Village of Glendon for the use of land, as well as the volunteers for roughly 700 hours of work they do to help organize the event.
