Close to 200 competitors will travel to the Exhibition Grounds this Friday and Saturday for the annual Estevan Canadian Cowboys Association (CCA) Rodeo.
Laura Mantei, chairperson of the Estevan CCA Rodeo, said the stop will be one of the last chances these athletes will have to qualify for the CCA Finals in Swift Current from Oct. 19 to 22. She said that means the competition in the Energy City will be fierce with anyone looking to gain or hold onto one of the coveted berths being in town to keep their chances intact.
The Estevan CCA Rodeo will feature various events including bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, barrel racing and team roping as well as special intermission shows each day from local trick riders the Calamity Cowgirls.
Mantei said there will also be a team roping jackpot event on Saturday evening and again on Sunday morning, a light horse show beginning on Saturday morning and the annual ranch rodeo on Sunday afternoon. She said a pancake breakfast fundraiser by STARS air ambulance on the Exhibition Grounds will also keep visitors and contestants satisfied on both Saturday and Sunday morning.
“Plus there is going to be the Dirty Dozen Mud Run,” said Mantei. “That will be starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning. That is a Spartan race type of a thing where it’s a challenge against yourself. The reason it’s called the Dirty Dozen is there are 12 obstacles and there is going to be mud.”
Mantei said the Estevan CCA Rodeo suffered under a deluge of rain on its second day of competition last year and the hope is this weekend is clear for both its contestants and fans. She said it’s the Labour Day weekend and the last holiday of the summer with work and school set to pick up once it’s over, so everyone should take advantage of the extra day off by heading to the Exhibition Grounds to enjoy the rodeo.
“They have a full weekend with the mud run and the rodeo and team roping and the horse show,” she said. “I just hope people come out. It’s the last long weekend before school gets really going.”
