4-H Rodeo Competitors Ready

The 19th annual 4-H Rodeo goes this weekend at the Agrium Western Events Centre on the Stampede grounds in Calgary.

Past chair of the event, Laura Frank says it gets started Friday night with a brand new event, a jeopardy obstacle challenge.

"We are fortunate enough to have the group of volunteers that puts on the Cowboy Up challenge at the Calgary Stampede, they're coming down with all their exciting obstacles that they use down at the grounds for the ten days of Stampede and they're letting the kids try them out and that's an opportunity for the kids who are coming from across the province of Alberta, some from Saskatchewan and British Columbia to really get to know each other," Frank says.

She says they're getting used to their new home at the Western Events Centre after being in Olds for a few years while construction was going on at the grounds.

Frank says clinics are also provided for the kids.

"We have some new clinics that we're excited for," she says. "Saturday night's event, this is the second year in a row that we're having a roping clinic, Lorne Lawson is coming down so that's sort of a newer event that we have."

She says for the last three years they've partnered up with the Stampede Queen's Alumni for the Giddy Up rodeo for children with special needs. For the 4-H kids it's a chance for them to go from being the students all weekend to being the teachers.

"They get to pass on their knowledge and experience, and pass it on to the kids at Giddy Up and it's really exciting for both of them because the 4-H-er's really have that pride of being the rodeo mentor to these special needs kids and it's an opportunity for everyone to get together and have a nice time and experience rodeo," Frank says.

Rodeo events include steer daubing, barrel racing, pole bending, cow riding, roping, thread the needle and goat tying.

It's free to attend all three days. It goes Friday Aug. 19 at 7:30 and the rodeo starts at 1:15 in the afternoon Saturday and Sunday.