Travels in West Canada 2019

CANADA 2019
PRO RODEO @HANNA, ALBERTA

PAGE ONE | PAGE TWO

Photos © Ruud Leeuw

Certain events like rodeos or car racing are typical events I like to attend, but most holiday travel see litle opportunity to visit such a venue as the start and ending of the holidays may take up two of perhaps three weekends.
Preparing my trip I found I could attend the last Professional Rodeo event in Canada of this 2019 season before the final in Red Deer and while the saturday had more entourage present and the weather (snow) could easily have complicated my attendance, we did make it to the closing sunday of this event.
Since the weather around this time of year (late september) is a factor to be calculated in, the ProRodeo at Hanna in Alberta is an indoor rodeo. This made photography due to the light conditions a bit 'iffy', the conditions outside (snow and wind) showed it was the best we could wish for.
The CPR Finals in Red Deer is also an indoor event (2019: Oct.29th - Nov.03rd @Westerner Park).
The conditions surrounding this event are depicted on my 'travelogue', CANADA 2019.

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Hanna Pro Rodeo 2019

The Hanna Indoor Pro Rodeo wrapped up the Canada Pro Rodeo circuit on Sept. 29th (2019), giving rodeo
contestants one last kick at the can to get their ranks up high enough to attend the CPR Finals in Red Deer on
Oct.29th-Nov.02nd.

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
Before the event was to start some horses and ponies were getting a warming up, for the outside temperature
was hovering around 0 Celsius.
And I could check out my cameras (Canon EOS 77D + 24-105/L lens and Sony RX10M4) for the right settings.

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
Sunday Sep.29th 13:00: after a short introductory by the MC we stood in attendance for the anthem.

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
Canada's Miss Rodeo, Jaden Holle, presents the Canadian Maple Leaf flag.

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
The girls we´ve seen before reappear as the 'Pick Up Chicks'.

Rodeo is a competitive sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later Central America, South America, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros in the charreria and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States, western Canada, and northern Mexico.

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
´Hannah Pro Rodeo´, the rider is Allivia 'Alli' Sauer (Miss Rodeo Hanna)

American rodeo, particularly popular today within the Canadian province of Alberta and throughout the western United States, is the official state sport of Wyoming, South Dakota, and Texas.
The iconic silhouette image of a 'Bucking Horse and Rider' is a federal and state-registered trademark of the State of Wyoming.
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta has considered making American rodeo the official sport of that province. However, enabling legislation has yet to be passed.

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
´And we also thank our sponsors!´
This Indoor Prodeo is in the hall belonging to the Hanna Curling Club. Quite a makeover!

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
Meet Jaden Holle. Her crown reads ´Miss Rodeo Canada´.
www.facebook.com/HannaProRodeo

www.hanna.ca/rodeo

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
As soon as the chute opens, the clock starts ticking and the rider is set to catch the young steer asap..

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
The deal here is to wrestle the steer in a minimum of time to the ground.

Steer wrestling, also known as 'Bulldogging', is a rodeo event where the rider jumps off his horse onto a Corriente steer and 'wrestles' it to the ground by grabbing it by the horns.
This is probably the single most physically dangerous event in rodeo for the cowboy, who runs a high risk of jumping off a running horse head first and missing the steer, or of having the thrown steer land on top of him, sometimes horns first.

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
'Judo', the cowboy way!

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
One can see why some people oppose this 'sport', can't be a pleasure for the young steer to be handled like this..?

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
Roping competitions are based on the tasks of a working cowboy, who often had to capture calves and adult cattle
for branding, medical treatment and other purposes. The cowboy must throw a type of rope with a loop, known as a
lariat, riata or reata, or lasso, over the head of a calf or onto the horns and around the hind legs of adult cattle,
and secure the animal in a fashion dictated by its size and age.

In the United States, professional rodeos are governed and sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA), while other associations govern children's, high school, collegiate, semi-professional and senior rodeos.
Associations also exist for Native Americans and other minority groups. The traditional season for competitive rodeo runs from spring through fall, while the modern professional rodeo circuit runs longer.

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
In one fluent movement the rope has been thrown, the roper gets off the horse while the latter tightens the rope.

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
Here we have a series of shots, getting the rope around the neck...

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
.. the rider moves to terra firma...

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
.. ties the legs and throws up his arms for the time to stop.

Calf roping, also called 'Tie-down roping', is based on ranch work in which calves are roped for branding, medical treatment, or other purposes. It is the oldest of rodeo's timed events.
The cowboy ropes a running calf around the neck with a lariat, and his horse stops and sets back on the rope while the cowboy dismounts, runs to the calf, throws it to the ground and ties three feet together.
The job of the horse is to hold the calf steady on the rope. A well-trained calf-roping horse will slowly back up while the cowboy ties the calf, to help keep the lariat snug. ¬Wikipedia

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
Team roping; most teams had one failing to get the rope on the target. Not easy!

Team roping, also called "heading and heeling," is the only rodeo event where men and women riders compete together.
Two people capture and restrain a full-grown steer. One horse and rider, the "header," lassos a running steer's horns, while the other horse and rider, the "heeler," lassos the steer's two hind legs. Once the animal is captured, the riders face each other and lightly pull the steer between them, so that both ropes are taut.
This technique originated from methods of capture and restraint for treatment used on a ranch. ¬Wikipedia

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
Team roping, here we can see how it's done. Quite an art

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
Barrel racing!

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
Barre Racing is a timed speed and agility event. In barrel racing, horse and rider gallop around a cloverleaf pattern
of barrels, making agile turns without knocking the barrels over. In professional, collegiate and high school rodeo,
barrel racing is an exclusively women's sport, though men and boys occasionally compete at local O-Mok-See competition.

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
An exciting event and there seems to be no harm to the racing horses.

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019

Bronc riding - there are two divisions in rodeo, bareback bronc riding, where the rider is only allowed to hang onto a bucking horse with a type of surcingle called a 'rigging'; and saddle bronc riding, where the rider uses a specialized western saddle without a horn (for safety) and hangs onto a heavy lead rope, called a bronc rein, which is attached to a halter on the horse.

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
Some of the contestants did not make it to this event as they were stranded due excessive snowfall
in the state of Montana. They could not continue and missed out on rodeo points and possible awards.

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
Time to leave!

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
Anxious moments when the rider's foot got stuck in the stirrup..

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
The bull riding was a bit of a challenge for me in terms of photography as the fight between the rider and the
bull was right outside the bull pen at the far end of the arena. Note the posture of the onlookers.

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
There is no recovery from this position!

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
Bull riding was never part of the cowboy's traditional work and activists often object to this event in the rodeo.

From Wikipedia:
'Rodeo has provoked opposition from animal rights and animal welfare advocates, who argue that various competitions constitute animal cruelty.
The American rodeo industry has made progress in improving the welfare of rodeo animals, with specific requirements for veterinary care and other regulations that protect rodeo animals. However, rodeo is opposed by a number of animal welfare organizations in the United States and Canada. Some local and state governments in North America have banned or restricted rodeos, certain rodeo events, or types of equipment.
Internationally, rodeo is banned in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, with other European nations placing restrictions on certain practices.'

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
He seems to make a controlled exit!

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
One can see here it is not easy not to be thrown off. The stopwatch is ticking for a best time.

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
Note the 'bullfighter' stepping in and diverting the bull's attention away from the fallen rider.
You will be amazed at his speed and agility as he steps in after the ride to ensure the safety of every bull rider.
Not for the faint of heart! It is a recognised athletic participation and awards are been given to the best of the best.

Bull riding - an event where the cowboys ride full-grown bulls instead of horses.
Although skills and equipment similar to those needed for bareback bronc riding are required, the event differs considerably from horse riding competition due to the danger involved. Because bulls are unpredictable and may attack a fallen rider, rodeo clowns, now known as 'bullfighters', work during bull-riding competition to distract the bulls and help prevent injury to competitors.

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
The Rodeo Clown! He was a lot of fun and the kids just loved him.

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
Note the barrel here, the rodeo clown sat in there at times. It is an honour to be the barrelman, pick-up man and
bullfighter during events such as the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (Las Vegas).

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019

ProRodeo at Hanna, ALberta 29Sep2019
A variant to 'Steer Riding', a rough stock event for boys and girls where children ride steers (or ponies in this case),
usually in a manner similar to bulls. Ages vary by region, as there is no national rule set for this event, but generally participants are at least 8 years old and compete through about age 14. It is a training event for bronc riding
and bull riding. Some of them had long ways to go, but it was fun towatch!