It’s been four long years since the last rodeo was held in Cloverdale, but in one week the rodeo returns.
The 75th incarnation of the Cloverdale Rodeo and the 132nd Country Fair will be held on the Cloverdale Fairgrounds on “Rodeo Weekend.” The first Cloverdale Rodeo was held in 1945 and the first Country Fair was held in 1888.
The familiar May long weekend event (May 19-22) will open with the Cloverdale Bed Races Thursday, May 18, at about 6 p.m.
The last rodeo was held in 2019 and cancellations because of COVID (2020 and 2021) and because of structural problems with the Stetson Bowl (2022) forced the rodeo to go on hiatus
“We’re thrilled to finally be returning after so long,” Kathy Sheppard, president of the Cloverdale Rodeo Association, told the Cloverdale Reporter. “It’s going to be an exciting weekend with the rodeo and so many other great events happening on the Fairgrounds.”
The rodeo will feature roughstock rodeo events—bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding—along with ladies barrel racing, specialty acts, mutton bustin’, and rodeo clown acts.
Cloverdale will host 96 cowboys and cowgirls. The athletes will compete in five rodeo performances over the weekend. Both the 2019 Cloverdale Rodeo champs and the 2022 Canadian Rodeo champions have been invited.
Sheppard said the rodeo will feature some intense competition with “fantastic” professional cowboys and cowgirls.
“Of our 96 contestants, 54 of them qualified for (Canadian Finals Rodeo) and (National Finals Rodeo) last year,” she noted. “They are the cream of the crop. They are the champions of the champions.”
Sheppard added that of the 80 animals set to compete in the U.S. National Finals Rodeo, Cloverdale has 15 of those beasts ready to buck and ramble and roll at the upcoming rodeo.
“So it’s champion competitors—both human and animal.”
Rodeo Weekend also promises visitors a whole slate of other events too, including: live entertainment, food trucks, midway rides & games, along with a multitude of other feature attractions.
The rodeo parade will be held May 20 at 10 a.m. and will include floats, marching bands, dance groups, clowns, cowboys and cowgirls on horses, and some classic automobiles.
The West Coast Lumberjack show is returning this year, along with the livestock display, the freestyle skateboarding competition, and the “Buckaroo Barn” in the Cloverdale Rec. Centre (formerly called the Kids Zone). New features include an Indigenous Village, All Star Wrestling events, and XPogo—extreme pogo stick performers.
Country music star George Canyon will be the rodeo’s musical headliner. There will also be a Craft Beverage Zone and more than 40 food trucks will be on site. And, of course, the Longhorn Saloon is back.
There will be five rodeo performances for the 2023 rodeo: May 19, 7:30 p.m.; May 20, 2:30 p.m.; May 20, 7:30 p.m.; May 21, 2:30 p.m.; May 22, 2:30 p.m. (Finals).
Sheppard said if anyone is interested in doing more than just attending the rodeo, they should reach out to the Cloverdale Rodeo Association.
“We are a volunteer-run organization and we’re always looking for more volunteers,” she said. “The only way we can continue to run our association and to continue to put on a rodeo, is to have volunteers from the community.”
For more info on becoming a volunteer, visit cloverdalerodeo.com and click on “Association” and then “Volunteering.”
Tickets for the rodeo are on sale now. Visit cloverdalerodeo.com/tickets to grab some.
“By purchasing online you’ll save a few bucks, and avoid any line-ups to buy during the rodeo weekend,” added Sheppard. “You can get fair admission, rodeo tickets, ride passes, and beat the line passes for the Longhorn. Also kids 12 and under receive free fair admission.”
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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