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 |
