Among the guests town during the much-anticipated Football Week in the Parkland were two individuals who helped the 1966 Saskatchewan Roughriders defeat their Ontario-based, same-named nemesis, the Ottawa Rough-riders for the Grey Cup.
Dale West and Wayne Shaw were invited to help local residents celebrate the week-long festivities which they hope will earn them the official title of Riderville.
West and Shaw arrived in town late on the Thursday night of Football Week in the Parkland, and arrived just in time to take in many of the Riderville festivities, including the Rider Museum at the Army/Navy Veterans Club on Friday.
Earlier that day, they received an ovation at Jordan Matechuk's all-pro football camp at the Yorkton Regional High School Century Field, before heading to the Army/Navy Veteran's Club that evening.
On the agenda was a performance courtesy of the Rider cheer squad as well as a video replay of that memorable Grey Cup championship from 1966 when West and Shaw were both members of Saskatchewan's Grey Cup win.
The following morning, West and Shaw toured the town with a group of the cheerleading squad as they visited retirement/nursing homes in the area, judging them based on Roughrider decorations.
They were both pleased and excited by what they saw.
West said it was awesome to be a part of.
"It looks really great for a city this size. We really enjoyed watching the replay of the 1966 Grey Cup game."
The week featured an awful lot of events and Friday night's scheduled included making stops at the tailgate party at the Kinsmen Arena, the Matechuk football camp, and the Army club where the night came to an end.
"I knew it was going to be well planned," states West.
"It was really excellent," adds his former teammate Shaw following their two-hour bus ride with the cheer squad which also included a stop at the new Yorkton firehall where they helped judged a best-dressed pet competition.
