Camper trailers and RVs filled the parking lot adjacent to Alex Fraser Park as some of the finest young rodeo athletes from across B.C. gathered in Quesnel for the city’s High School Rodeo meet last weekend (Sept. 28-30).
High School Rodeo is split up into North and South regions in the province, and this was one of the rare events where both regions competed against one another at the same time.
“This is a large meet,” says Lynn Peck, the provincial director for B.C. High School Rodeo Association. “There are approximately 160 contestants, so our day yesterday [Sept. 29] started at nine o’ clock in the morning and we went to 7:30. It was a full meal deal.
“We kind of shortened up, regrouped and reorganized, so we can get out of here tonight [Sept. 30].”
Junior and Senior athletes competed in many of the traditional events like barrel racing, team roping, saddle bronc and tie downs, but there were a couple events that are unique to the organization, like ribbon roping and chute dogging.
The first is a team event, where one rider and one contestant on-foot team up to lasso a steer, grab a ribbon from its tail and race back to the starting line.
The second is similar to steer wrestling but the contestants start off in a chute, instead of having to subdue the animal from horseback first.
Peck, who has been involved with the organization for more than 25 years, say it has evolved considerably since she started.
“We’ve had a lot of success stories from here,” she says, mentioning the doors that open up for those involved.
“There are opportunities that open up outside the rodeo arena. We’re high on education and there are scholarships awarded for their achievements in the arena and scholastically.”
Peck points to competitor Paris Schneider from Hedley, B.C., who was standing nearby wearing her pink National Junior High Finals jacket.
“She’s gone to the national championships and also went down to Lebanon, Tennessee for a big meet.”
Now heading into Grade 11, Schneider says she was brought into the sport by her father, who has been involved “forever.”
She was the 2016 BC High School Junior all around champion and also qualified for Junior National Finals Rodeo.
The competition at events like the one in Quesnel propel her to give everything she’s got. “They’re pretty important to me, as they give me a confidence boost when I win. They make me want to go pro at some point. So I try harder and practice.”
Schneider isn’t the only contestant who relies on the help of her family.
“I’m hauling my granddaughter and a friend’s son and a spare horse,” says Peck.
“We kind of group together and it’s one of those things where it’s an individual sport, but we look at it as a team sport as we support everybody to get them to where they need to be.”
Support is something that is crucial to get into the sport in the first place. Obviously rodeo has a fairly high barrier to entry, and Peck says the organization likes to make sure the young athletes realize how good they have it.
“It’s not inexpensive,” she points out. “I hate to use the word privileged, but these kids are a select few and many others aren’t offered the opportunity to participate in our sport.
“So we really try to drive this point home to them, that they’re quite lucky to get this.”
