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Olds College celebrates 50th Anniversary of Rodeo

Mar 23, 2018 | 6:18 AM

Olds College and the Olds College Rodeo Club are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of rodeo at Olds College at the Olds College Alumni Rodeo on Saturday.

In the 50 years since the Olds College Rodeo program was first established, it went from being an extra-curricular student team, to an accredited academic program, to today’s iteration as a student club and recognized sport under Olds College Broncos athletics.

In that time, the program has turned out athletes who won national Canadian Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (CIRA) championships, and dozens of cowboys and cowgirls who would go on to become professional rodeo athletes and compete at national championships.

The event starts on Saturday at 1 p.m. and is being held in the Olds College Brawn Arena.

The rodeo will feature 11 events including:

– pole bending
– bareback
– goat tying
– steer wrestling
– tie-down roping
– breakaway roping
– saddle bronc
– barrel racing
– ladies cow riding
– team roping
– bull riding

The rodeo program was first instituted by Animal Science instructor Dennis Ratcliff in the 1967/1968 academic year and quickly became one of the most popular extracurricular activities on Olds College campus.

(Gary McKinnon – Olds College)