Fans who have been filling the seats at the previous 17 Kamsack Indoor Rodeos have come to expect that they’ll be watching some of the best athletes in the sport compete.
That will not change for the 18th annual rodeo being held tomorrow night and Saturday afternoon when again some of the Canadian Cowboy Association’s top rodeo performers will be at the Broda Sportsplex.
Added to the program this year will be a special demonstration of rodeo youngsters riding miniature bucking broncs, and wild pony races for which about 20 youths from the rodeo audience will be able to register to compete in during the two rodeo performances.
Another added event is that following the rodeo performance Saturday afternoon there will be heavy horse chore teams brought into the arena by Kevin Boese of Kamsack and Paul Hrabarchuk of Kenville so that they can demonstrate what muscles on big horses can do.
Anthony Potvin of Austin, Man., who is currently number one in saddle bronc, and Kirk Thompson of Oak Lake, Man., who holds the number eight position, will both be among the 13 saddle bronc cowboys competing in Kamsack.
In bareback, Brady Bertram of Maple Creek, who holds the number one position, and Mason Helmeczi of Esterhazy, number 11, will be among the six bareback riders looking to win more prize money. Helmeczi had injured his back at a rodeo in Kelliher last year and fans say they are thrilled to see him back in the arena.
JB Moen of Elrose, who currently holds the number one spot among bull riders and Ron Hunt, in the number two position, will be among the 15 bull riders registered to attend the Kamsack rodeo. Among the other bull riders known to district rodeo fans are Caleb Bedford of MacNutt, who is currently number six, and Matthew Tomolak of Esterhazy.
The 23 cowboys who will be in the tie down roping event in Kamsack includes Scott Sigfusson of Davidson, who holds the number two position in the event, and Tuftin McLeod of Waldeck, who holds the number six position in tie down roping but is number one as Canadian high point winner, having won a total of nearly $23,000 this year.
The Kamsack rodeo will have 20 steer wrestlers compete, and among them are the current top three steer wrestlers: George Wheeler of Davidson, in number one; Scott Sigfusson of Davidson, number two, and Devon Porter of Solsgirth, Man, number three. Also returning to Kamsack in the event are Alistair Hagan of Virden, Man., and Dr. Joe King, also of Virden, who works as a veterinarian.
A total of 32 women are registered to compete in the ladies’ barrel racing events and among them are the top two: Renie Schnitzler of Vanscoy, number one, and Bertina Olafson of Hudson Bay, number two.
Included in the 28 two-person teams registered in the team roping event are Tyce McLeaod of Waldeck, the number one team roping heeler, and Tuftin McLeod, also of Waldeck, who is the number one team roping header.
Also competing in the event will be Robert Schmidt of Yellow Grass, who as the rodeo’s announcer, will have to leave his position at the microphone in order to compete as a header with his partner Ryan Hanna of Pilot Butte.
The Kamsack rodeo will again be using the animals provided by Prime Time Rodeos of Kennedy. Kelly Oremba of Esterhazy, who works with Prime Time, will be bringing miniature bucking broncs and ponies.
With Oremba will be children from rodeo families who have been trained in the proper techniques of riding and falling, and using the same rigging and protective gear as is used on the regular horses, they will demonstrate the sport of bucking broncs in miniature.
“Come watch some of our future rodeo stars at the beginning of their careers,” said a representative of the Kamsack Indoor Rodeo Association committee.
Another fun event being held during the two rodeo shows will be the wild pony races.
“We’ll be having a limited number of spots for the kids,” the representative said. Participants will have to be registered at a booth in the lobby by their parents or guardians prior to the start of the rodeo.
In the event, there will be teams of three kids at each pony, and a maximum of three or four ponies at each of the two rodeos.
As is the case with all the rodeos, Saturday morning will be the time for the “slack” events. In order to keep the rodeos at a two-and-a-half hour maximum, if there are more competitors in the timed events that can be accommodated during the rodeos, then those competitors spend their time in the arena on Saturday morning.
The weekend will include a cabaret on Friday night following the show with music being provided for a seventh consecutive year by Absolut Class Sound of Swan River. The bar will remain open following the Saturday afternoon performance as well for post-rodeo socializing.
A pancake breakfast will be served Saturday morning by parents of the Sadok Ukrainian dance club, and 50/50 tickets will be sold during both shows.
On Friday the rodeo association’s weekly Lasso the Two lottery will be held. Tickets will be sold from 6 p.m. until following the intermission, when the draw will be made.
��s just a matter of deciding to stay positive and not giving in to those who see the glass as half empty.
