The community’s passion for the rodeo is the reason it comes back every year, according to both the president of the Lakeland Rodeo Association, Cory Dunlop, and the president of the St. Paul Ag Society, Doug Drolet.
“The town gets behind it so much, and all the work the Ag society does to host such a great event . . . St. Paul has done so well to do such a good job when the economy did struggle in Alberta,” said Dunlop, now in his fourth year as president of the LRA.
“We’ve been doing it for 32 years and everybody in the Ag Society has a passion for the rodeo in St. Paul, and we do our best to make it a great performance. Everyone is out there to put on a good show,” said Drolet, noting one of the many benefits for the town is the boost the rodeo gives to the local economy.
“I believe people look forward to the LRA finals on the September long weekend. It’s when everybody gets together, the last long weekend before everybody hits school and people just get together,” said Drolet.
He said that togetherness in the community is one of the things that makes the rodeo finals special.
“I like the whole thing, but probably the Saturday when the parade happens and it’s kids day (is my favourite). You see all the kids running around having a great time as well as the grown ups. . . We start at 7 a.m. and people are buzzing around getting ready for the parade, then the Rec Centre opens up and there’s the petting zoo and all kinds of things going on there for kids, as well as what happens at the Clancy with the afternoon performance,” said Drolet.
Dunlop said his favourite part of the rodeo each year is the opening performance on Thursday night.
“The first five minutes when it starts. Every night I enjoy when the lights go out and they start introducing the cowboys. That’s one of the things I like most as a competitor, it really sets the atmosphere for the weekend,” said Dunlop. He said the atmosphere inside the Clancy Richard Arena where the stands are full is a very different feeling than when he’s at one of the 21 outdoor rodeos the LRA hosts throughout the summer, or the 15 co-sanctioned events.
“You have to go to seven of our rodeos and a minimum of three of the co-sanctioned. It gives guys the opportunity to get to more rodeos. And then qualifying for the finals, it goes off of money won, so it’s top 10 competitors in each event throughout the summer,” said Dunlop, when explaining how competitors make it to the final show.
Dunlop said he hopes everyone continues to show up, have a good time, and enjoy the performance.
“Come out, enjoy yourselves, meet people, and enjoy the rodeo,” echoed Drolet.
