For 69 young riders and ropers from more than 25 4-H clubs across the Prairies, last weekend’s Calgary Stampede 4-H Rodeo was a chance to sharpen their skills, learn from professionals and put what they learned to the test in events most had never tried.
The participants, aged six to 19, gathered at Stampede Park Sept. 19-20. They took part in clinics on horsemanship, roping and cow riding on Saturday before competition opened that evening with cow riding. Barrel racing, pole bending and breakaway roping followed Sunday.
Held for the past 29 years, the annual 4-H Rodeo is part of the Calgary Stampede’s longstanding commitment to agriculture and youth leadership. It gives young people a place to develop their skills through instruction and competition, while building confidence and connections with other 4-H members.
For many participants, cow riding offered the biggest new challenge.
"Most of these kids have never been on a bucking cow before, so they're really challenging themselves to try something new and unfamiliar,” said Chad Besplug, the Stampede's Western Sports Competition and Production Manager, who led the 4-H Rodeo cow riding clinic. "It's really cool when you see everyone who was really scared to do it, and fight through that mental block."
Riders were never required to compete, he said, and most performed better than they themselves expected because they already had horsemanship skills.
Among the families back for a fourth straight year was Meghan Marshall of Bowden, Alta., whose daughters Keely, 13, Kobie, 12, and Kenzee, 10, entered every event and attended every clinic.
"It's a really neat opportunity for the kids to come down to Stampede Park, experience everything firsthand, get to ride in the big arena and meet some pro rodeo athletes," Marshall said.
The 4-H Rodeo has introduced young people to the sport since 1997. For the Marshalls, who run a cow-calf operation and are part of a family feedlot, it has become a yearly fixture.
"It's a worthwhile experience that we keep coming back to," Marshall said.
For the Marshall sisters and the other young riders, the weekend offered more than a result in the arena: they left with new experience to take back to their clubs and build on next year.
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