Whitecourt Woodlands Rodeo puts on a great late-season show

The Whitecourt Woodlands Rodeo took over the Eagle River Casino rodeo grounds at the Westward Hall on August 21 and 22. The weekend event put on by the Whitecourt & District Agricultural Society was a welcomed sight for both attendees and participants. Society president Malcolm Heaven said it was about time. “Our usual time for the rodeo is the third week of June, but this year, since nobody knew what was happening with COVID, we had to cancel that. Then the WRA (Wildrose Rodeo Association) came up with this date for us in August, and we said yup and jumped at it.”

Spectators excited to see chuckwagons or pro bulls were likely saddened to see them not on the schedule, but Heaven said there was a good reason for that. “The chuckwagons weren’t ready. A lot of them haven’t been racing all year. It’s a money thing too because it costs a lot of money to get the wagons to come here, and we just didn’t have the time to raise that kind of money this year.” He said it was the same with the pro bulls. “That’s another big cost for us, and we just didn’t have that in our budget. We decided to go with the rodeo so that everybody would get a little piece of the action.”

Heaven said that everyone was happy to get back into the swing of things. “Over the last two years, they haven’t done anything and trying to get into the CFR has been really tough on them. We thought we would give them an opportunity to make some points up for this year’s CFR.” Heaven said that the Canadian Finals Rodeo is points based and without the opportunities to compete, riders can’t build up what they need. “They need points to make it, and this is how they earn those points.”

He explained that the cowboys and cowgirls were pumped when they heard they could compete at the Whitecourt Woodlands Rodeo this year. “It was a good response. People were quite excited about it. We were one of the first rodeos in this area to get going, and then others filled in the schedule after us. Some of their rodeos weren’t planned until July or August, so they got to keep their plans in place when we had to cancel ours. But it worked out.”

This year’s rodeo marks twelve years of action at the Ag. Society grounds since the move out of Whitecourt. “We are so excited to get everybody out here, and we hope they are happy and that that they have fun,” smiled Heaven.

For local cowboy Tyson Schmidt, the weekend was a chance to compete in front of friends and family. He’s been riding bulls for about two years. “It’s an amazing feeling to be part of the rodeo community. Everyone’s got your back, and it’s a great team.”

Schmidt had a great ride which included an epic landing after the bull successfully bucked off his rider. “I think it was one of my best rides. I can’t complain!” For many, finding the courage to tie themselves to a massive bull and go for a wild ride seems like an impossible feat, but Schmidt and his fellow riders seem to do it with ease. “Bull riding is more of a mental game. It takes a lot. It’s easy to get your hand in that rope, but it takes a long time to nod your head.”

That nod of the head signals to rodeo attendees that the rider is ready for the gate to open. That’s when the rider needs to focus and do everything they can to stay on as long as possible. “The moment right before you nod, anything can happen. It’s pure adrenaline.” Schmidt said it takes about an hour for that massive wave of adrenaline to come down. Talk about a rush!

As for getting a little too close to those angry feet, Schmidt said the adrenaline helps with that. “The only thing going through your mind when you are on the ground near the bull is just getting out of the way and getting somewhere safe. That bull just about got me. I could feel it just about graze my back, but I got out of there in time,” he said with a smile.

Schmidt, who is 16 years of age, said that it was nice to see many people out watching the Whitecourt Woodlands Rodeo. “At the start of the season, there wasn’t much for people because of COVID, and I wasn’t really complaining because I was just happy to ride but seeing the full grandstands out there now, I like it a lot.” Next for him, he will be attending a rodeo in Grimshaw this weekend, and then he will be working hard as part of Whitecourt High School Rodeo. “I’m going to keep practicing and getting better.”