Traditions of the Old West continue for the 128th year with the historic Wood Mountain Sports and Stampede to take place at Wood Mountain Regional Park rodeo grounds from July 7-9.
It is a Canadian Cowboy’s Association sanctioned event and the oldest continuous rodeo in Canada since 1890. The stock contractor is Rafter Anchor Rodeo and the announcer will be Robert Schmidt.
This year, rodeo fans will be able to watch the events in comfort under a new grandstand. Many volunteers put a lot of time and effort into preparing the grounds for the stampede. This year they took on replacing the grandstand which has been a landmark in the community for 70 years. Originally, it was built in 1946-1947 using timbers from the CPR trestle bridge west of Wood Mountain under the direction of Tony Westergard. Its brushed covered top has withstood the test of time, being an integral part of all events held at the rodeo grounds. But it was dismantled this past winter to be replaced this spring with a new structure in time for the 128th stampede.
Wood Mountain Sports and Stampede events will kick off with a sponsors’ appreciation dinner on Thursday, July 6 at 5:30 p.m. Rodeo action gets underway on Friday, July 7 with the Little Britches Rodeo for contestants aged 16 years and under. Recognizing the difficulty for youth to become part of rodeo competition, the Little Britches Rodeo has been held in conjunction with the Stampede since 1973.
Little Britches is a vital component of the sport of rodeo, playing much the same role as juvenile hockey and little league baseball for these sports. Little Britches provides the opportunity for young people to get a feel for rodeo competition without having to pay a high entry fee and go up against the seasoned veterans of the CCA or CPRA. The South Saskatchewan Little Britches Rodeo Association was formed in 1983.
