There won’t be any shortage of rodeo action spanning the gamut from tyke to adult competitions at this weekend’s annual Williams Lake Harvest Fair.
Starting on Friday, Sept. 6, the Harvest Ranch Rodeo Top Horse Competition rides its way into the Williams Lake Trail Riders Outdoor Arena.
Organizer Jenny Huffman said 11 teams including Gang Ranch, Riske Creek Ranching, River Ranch, Wine Glass, Fraser River Ranch, Dane Ranch, Chimney Creek Hereford Ranch, Steve Roberts Ranching and Douglas Lake Ranch — the only out of region team — will be competing.
“Friday [tonight] at 4 p.m. we start things off with the top horse competition called the Cowboy Challenge,” Huffman said. “We’ll have a circuit set up in the outside trail riders arena and they will have to ride through the circuit going over obstacles like bridges, pulling fence posts, and things like that.”
Huffman said horses and riders — one from each team of three cowboys — will then be judged based on how they perform.
“We judge this on how calm and nicely you can complete the course from a cowboy perspective,” she said. “It’s a 10-minute event for each person who competes and the points go toward their team’s final score.”
At 10 a.m. Saturday, the second round of the Harvest Ranch Rodeo gets underway at the Trail Riders Outdoor Arena.
“We have five events,” Huffman said. “Team sorting, team branding, pairing out, team doctoring and trailer loading.”
Also at 10 a.m. Saturday and at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 8, the second annual Little Britches Rodeo Finals take centre stage, featuring the brightest future rodeo stars in the region.
Tammy Tugnum, president of the Williams Lake Harvest Fair, said anyone who comes to watch the event is in for an entertaining show.
“This is the first year we’re hosting the Little Britches Rodeo Finals in Williams Lake and they have record entries,” Tugnum said. “These are the entry level rodeo stars of the future and they do pretty much everything [that an adult rodeo competitor would]. They’ll be great.”
The Little Britches Rodeo Finals will run throughout both days and takes place at the Stampede Rodeo Arena.
On Sunday, the action continues with the Jackpot Gymkhana beginning at 10 a.m. to wrap up the weekend’s rodeo festivities.
Nikki Fuller, co-organizer of the Jackpot Gymkhana, said everyone is invited.
“No one needs to pre-register,” she said, but noted if anyone would like to pre-register they can contact her at 250-267-6524. “They can also register the morning of.”
The Jackpot Gymkhana goes at the Trail Riders Outdoor Arena featuring barrel racing, pole bending, stakes, speed barrels and keyhole races.
Fuller said they’re expecting close to 50 entries in the Jackpot Gymkhana ranging from adults to children.
“Everyone’s invited and it should be great,” Fuller said.