Well, it wasn’t Princeton’s first time.
In fact, it was the town’s 40th event, the Stan Thompson Memorial Rodeo.
Hundreds of people congregated at Sunflower Downs over the weekend to enjoy the competitions, food vendors and entertainment.
Vice-president of the Princeton Rodeo, Paulette Boyd Carlson, said that after two years of pandemic restrictions it was a delight to get together again with friends.
For Carlson the highlights were “seeing families out and having fun, catching up with people you have not seen in ages from far and wide (and) meeting people from Japan, Germany and several other countries who were vacationing in our wonderful province.”
The event was part of the British Columbia Rodeo Association (BCRA) circuit, with cowboys and cowgirls competing for prize money and ranking for the BCRA championships later this year.
Sunday the rodeo opened with the singing of the Star Spangled Banner, followed by the Canadian national anthem, and then a tribute paid to Brian Lind and Terry Wright, two of the rodeo’s founders.
Numerous local competitors were crowd pleasers: Madison, Paris and Darrel Schneider from Hedley; Travis and Taylor Eller from Hedley; Norman Breen, Casey Breen, Ernie Willis, Leasa Conley, Brittany and Reva Shopshire from Princeton; and Chance Wabnegger coming from Keremeos.
“The rodeo is definitely back to stay and we are already making plans and comparing notes to hopefully make it a bigger and better event,” said Carlson.
“The rodeo club is always looking for new members and volunteers to join or help out.”
Related: Saddle up for the Princeton Rodeo this weekend
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email:andrea.demeer@similkameenspotlight.com
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