Big Changes for 2024
The 2024 Indoor Spring Classic Rodeo will feature an exciting new format. The April event will have four major events: Bareback Riding, Saddle Broncs and Bull Riding, and Ladies Barrel Racing. Junior, Pee Wee Barrels, and Junior Steer Riding will augment these four fan favourites. Mini-Bull riding and Wild Horse Racing are two more exciting fan favourites that will round out the roster of events.
The changes to the format will have many positive factors for fans of the annual event and event producers. The performances will now all be filled with more highly skilled and exciting rough stock competitors. The three complete go-arounds in the Bareback, Saddle Bronc and Bull Riding events will generate roughly forty trips per performance. The Mini-Bull riders will compete in all three rounds, with approximately six in each performance. Eight will be the number of Junior Steer riders out each day, and there will be six teams of Wild Horse racers each day from Friday to Sunday.
The Barrel Racing will also have a new and exciting twist. To ensure the top contestants will be in front of the paying public, there will now be a Thursday night “Qualifier”. The Qualifier will have no entry limit and will be open to the world. We haven’t forgotten the kids either. Both the juniors and peewees will be included in the Thursday event! The top twenty ladies will advance to the weekend’s festivities. Ten ladies will compete in each of the first two performances, with the top ten coming back to determine the champion on Sunday afternoon. The top five juniors and the top five peewees will be invited to compete in all three performances on the weekend.
The “show” is front and center, with the spectator experience a major focus of the new format. The Eagle Vision replay board that was such a huge hit in 2023 will be used to an even greater extent during the opening and intermission presentations. We have searched for a first-rate contract act to improve the entertainment value. The decision to bring Bert Davis and his Muttly Crew was easy. Bert has not been back to Canada since the COVID-19 pandemic. His comedy and barrel work have been exemplary for 30 years. Still, the show’s real star is his “Muttly Crew,” a proper menagerie of dogs, all from rescue shelters across North America, performing an amazing array of tricks. Bert’s love of the animals and their response to him is a truly heartwarming act that fans of all ages will enjoy.
Two new seating options will enhance the fan experience. New on-the-floor seating will be available for adventurous and zealous rodeo spectators. The seats will be spread across the arena floor opposite the bucking chutes – getting dirt in your drink will remind you that you can’t get much closer! The second new option will be the players’ benches. Approximately twenty seats in each home and visitor’s players’ box will be available. These will feature special food and beverage options as well as designated washroom facilities.
We are very proud of this format’s increased attention to the paying spectators. Jamming this much entertainment into two hours and thirty minutes will take our production crew’s skill and hard work. No task will be too small for our full attention and making 2024 the best “Indoor Spring Classic Rodeo” ever is our only goal. We look forward to seeing you all there – April 19 to 21, 2024.
