When packing up the holiday trailer this summer, you may want to shift into park for the Aug. 18 to 20 weekend.
The Cochrane Classic Bull Riding is heading into its 16th year and bucking off their former Lions Rodeo Park site and moving the whole show to partner with the Cochrane and District Ag Society for the fifth annual Cochrane Fair Aug. 19.
“I just thought it would be a good fit and saw it as an opportunity to grow my event with the fair,” said Cochrane Classic founder and organizer, Jason Borton, adding that running the event in the park adjacent to the community of Glenbow has caused noise concerns for some of the residents in previous years.
“I think moving this to the Ag Society will make everyone happy – and they’re a great group to work with.”
The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA)-sanctioned event will run Canada’s top 30 bull riders through the chutes and is part of the Xtreme Bulls Series, put on by the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA).
With more than $10,000 in prizes to take home, monies won at the event by the top four will count toward the PRCA’s National Finals Rodeo, the Canadian Finals Rodeo and the Xtreme Bulls Series finals.
Dancing and cocktails to the sounds of live entertainment will ensue following the evening event.
For Ag Society general manager Molly Sapergia and society president Justin Burwash, making the Cochrane Classic part of the annual Cochrane Fair will only move their team closer to making the weekend the summer hit to talk about for Cochrane families.
“He approached us and talked to us about running the bull ride in our outdoor arena and we just thought it was a great fit,” said Sapergia, adding that they just received confirmation that they can also add the West Coast Lumberjack Show to this year’s event roster – with nine 45-minute shows throughout the weekend.
“What’s really exciting is that they’re having nine 45 minute interactive shows – the Lumberjack AXEperience – where the audience can come out and try tree climbing, axe throwing, log rolling … everything but using power tools.”
Combined with the midway, event tent, kids’ zone with the petting zoo and pony rides, inside market with vendors and booths, the team said this year should be off the charts.
“The fair committee has been working really hard to grow the fair … adding more pieces to the puzzle is great for the fair and the community,” added Burwash.
Admission to the fair is $5/person and free for children five years and under.
The Cochrane Classic Bull Riding is $30/person; $20/seniors; $15/children ages five to 17 years; this includes fair, bull ride and dance admission for advance ticket purchases.
An unsettling future
While the Cochrane Fair plans have the society excited, the uncertainty surrounding the future of its property is troubling.
The Ag Society submitted a letter this week to Rocky View County – the leaseholder for the grounds the society operates on – expressing its discontent for its current situation.
“We feel like we are in a worse position now,” said Burwash, emphasizing that the county has refused a lease extension with the society and board members and user groups are left in limbo.
“We have eight years left on our lease on lands that have been declared a surplus by the county … we need to be proactive with a solution and not sit back and wait.”
Burwash said the letter proposed two options to the county: a new lease for 99 years, which would include a clause in the event of early termination or to sell the society the land for $1 million.
“We will see how they receive it.”
Burwash said the board has “mixed feelings” on whether it would be more suitable to remain on the current lands or to source out another location.
The greatest challenge at the current site is that it is without water or sewer and the cost to implement a system would not be feasible.
The society president said this is a “significant impediment to looking at our future goals and how we grow.”
The Eagle last reported that the county backed off its search for potential buyers of the 145-acre parcel of land that has been home to the society for 17 years and counting due to not being able to find candidates that would meet the criteria.
The county has specified it is “committed to working with the Ag Society to ensure the society’s long-term success”.
The Ag Society did support the county’s request for proposals process provided the following criteria was met: a replacement property of a minimum 120 acres; that a new location is within close proximity to the existing one and is able to serve its current user groups (such as horse and pony clubs and Cochrane BMX); and that sufficient funds were in place to rebuild the existing Ag Society indoor and outdoor arenas/facilities.
