AN ERA ENDS

The dust settles, the crowd is silent, nothing is as it was before. The Lambton Central Rodeo has decided after much deliberation to cancel the Rodeo this year. This decision was not come to easily. Many people have worked a lot of hours to get the where we are today. However, the event takes as much money as manpower to achieve the calibre of excellence that has been expected of the show. There seems to be little of both these days. “Financially speaking, if this were a business, I would have closed the doors and left the building by now. ” Chair Judy Krall said during the deliberations. The finances are just not coming in like they had in the past and it does take a lot of money to run the event.  Volunteers are spread thin as well, it seems like more and more people “are too busy to help.” Even those committed to helping are finding that the strain of keeping up with the demands was getting harder each year. It has been a good seven years for the Lambton Central Rodeo Group, comprised of the Petrolia & Enniskillen Agricultural Society and the Petrolia Optimists.  There have been ups and downs throughout the years, but no matter what obstacles were put in the way, they were worked through together, as a team. The AbarK Production Company, the group that brings the rodeo to town has been a wonderful group to work with. Everyone on the committee will have fond memories to share and cherish as life leads them down their paths. May all our paths cross again someday. Even though my personal 8 seconds was done after this rodeo, I was still hoping to hear the crowds cheer and feel the thrill of anticipation. It has been a fun ride!

There is always hope that down the road another group of volunteers will take the “Bull by the horns” and rustle up enough manpower to get the rodeo off the ground.  For now “the last good-byes are the hardest ones to say and this is where the cowboy rides away.”

Thank you.

Melissa Wright

Secretary

Lambton Central Rodeo