The first-ever Glendon Rough Stock Rodeo drew more than 700 spectators to the Glendon derby grounds Saturday evening and delivered both conventional and unconventional rodeo excitement.
"It was a success," summed up Travis Aylesworth, building manager for the Glendon Agriculture Society, which hosted the event.
The conventional rodeo excitement came from a wild horse race event, along with bareback, saddle bronc and bull riding competitions.
The less conventional thrills came around 8:55 p.m. when a bull that had dumped its rider went looking for a little more action. It leaped over the six-foot metal corral arena fence and headed into the sparsely occupied area west of the rodeo arena, sending children and adults scattering. Fortunately no one was hurt, though the scare left a least one frightened little girl crying and some spectators more than a touch nervous when action resumed.
The black and white bull headed away from the action into the tall grass and the event went on after a short delay. The high-steppin' bull was rounded up around midnight, Aylesworth said.
Feedback from cowboys and fans was positive, said Aylesworth, who added that organizers expect to stay with the same one-day format in June for 2011.
The event coincided with rodeos in Saddle Lake and Cold Lake, giving cowboys a chance to hit a few events in a relatively small area over the weekend.
To say the crowd numbers more than met expectations was perhaps best demonstrated by the fact the concession operators had to send out for more food to keep the burgers and hotdogs flowing to the crowd, said society treasurer Irene White.
The gate at the rodeo and the dance that followed took in about $8,000, White said, which will go a long way to helping the society cover its costs for the event.
Unlike the Bonnyville Pro Rodeo that was plagued by bad weather in late May — rain and snow and a cool breeze to go with it — the Glendon event offered great tanning weather early and a cooling breeze later on.
