Hallonquist - A Ranch Rodeo

On Sunday, we went down to Hallonquist, often photographed as a ghost town, for the Ranch Rodeo. A ranch rodeo is different from a rodeo such as Wood Mountain since its roots are in pioneer days where neighbours got together, had a few competitions such as bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, steer roping etc to show off their skills. In the evening, they had a social with lots of refreshments.

There are still some ranch rodeos such as this one and they are very popular with the locals. It is still designed for local cowboys and ranchers, and you will not likely see cowboys from the US or Australia as you see them at Wood Mountain.

It was a hot day with just enough of a breeze to break the heat. The beer gardens were well attended! Perhaps the most interesting part of the day was the "Mutton Races". For those not from the west, young (and I mean young!) future cowboys and cowgirls start their rodeo life off by riding sheep. Lots of fun and some really persistent young riders. I saw one little girl ride all the way to the end hanging on to the sheep even though she was upside down!

Father in law Mac and cousin Davey wanted to visit with some friends in the area. Cody was home from Europe with his girlfriend Maria, and a new baby (Chester) hadn't been presented to all the family yet. We had to return, so Mac and Davey were brought home by somebody, sometime. We know they are home because Mac phoned last night wanting to go Saskatoonberry picking!

For the photographers, I increased the shutter speed to 1/800 sec which seemed to help capture the motion better while still allowing sufficient light in and not messing up the depth of field too much.

Next blog, who knows?