Calgary Stampede

Marshall Pagenkoff of Airdrie, a member of the Irricana 4-H Country Riders, participaates in the senior cow riding event on Aug. 26 at the 15th annual Invitational 4-H Rodeo in Olds. Approximately 100 participants from about 30 4-H clubs across Alberta, ages nine through 20, took part in the annual event.

view all photos (-count-)

Local 4-H clubs show off skills at rodeo in Olds

About 100 4-H members, ages nine to 20, participated in the Calgary Stampede’s 15th annual Invitational 4-H Rodeo, Aug. 25 to 26 at Olds College.

Thirty 4-H clubs from across Alberta, including a number of area groups, participated in the rodeo’s three age categories including senior, with participants ages 15 to 20, intermediate, for members ages 12 to 14, and junior, featuring nine to 11 year olds.

Stewart Faith of Big Hill West Light Horse 4-H club was the area’s top performer, taking fourth overall in the intermediate category with 23 points. Kayla Parish of the Springbank Rawhides 4-H Club came in 10th in the same category with 15 points and Myles Goodman of the Airdrie 4-H Beef Club came in 12th with nine points.

Cathy Gunn of the Springbank Rawhides 4-H Club ranked 12th in the senior competition with 11 points.

Big Hill West Light Horse club’s Emily McBride and Amber Beeby coming in 15th and 24th respectively.

Channel Pagenkoff, Marshall Pagenkoff, Sam Stern and Kaycee Stern ranked 16th, 17th, 22nd and 23rd respectively, while Mitchell Miller, Amber Howard and Alex Irving of the Bow Valley Bandits ranked 25th, 27th and 28th in the senior competition.

Paige Stern and Martina Pagenkoff ranked 17th and 20th in the junior category, respectively.

Faith Stewart, 14, a Bearspaw resident and member of the Big Hill West Light Horse 4-H Club, won intermediate steer daubing in 3.55 seconds, taking home the only top finish in an individual event for area clubs.

“I thought it was really fun,” she said. “I had a very good steer daubing run.”

Stewart, also a singer who performed the national anthem at the 4-H rodeo, said she has been competing in rodeos for about a year.

Also of note was Airdrie 4-H Beef Club’s Myles Goodman, who took second place in the intermediate cow-riding event with 75 points, finishing behind Lucas Brown of the Gibbons Light Horse Club, who won with 82 points.

The rodeo’s timed events were held on Saturday afternoon and rough stock events on Sunday afternoon.

This year’s Stampede 4-H Rodeo was held off-site in Olds, and about a month earlier than usual, because of work on the Stampede’s Agrium Western Event Centre, the rodeo’s usual venue.