April 27, 2007

The first of the new "richer, rougher" Calgary Stampede Rodeos is now in the books, and the new tournament format is an unparalleled success. With $1.6 million dollars in prize money up for grabs by the rodeo cowboys and barrel racers, the new Stampede rodeo was huge hit among the competitors and rodeo fans alike.

"It's the ultimate way to show off rodeo," says Joe Beaver, the eight time world champion tie-down roper from Texas who was one of the cowboys invited to take part by the Stampede rodeo committee. "I spent 20 years trying to get to something like this," adds Beaver. "We're trying to sell rodeo at its best."

For 2006, the Stampede went with a whole new "all-star" format, taking the top 20 qualified and invited athletes in each of the six major events - saddle bronc, tie-down roping, bareback, steer wrestling, ladies barrel racing and bull riding. They were split into pools of 10 competitors, with Pool "A" competing the first four days of the 10 day event, and Pool "B" competing the next four days. The top four from each of the event pools automatically qualified for the semi-final round on Sunday, with the bottom six in each pool event moving into the Wild Card Saturday, where two more qualified for Sunday. The top ten on Sunday were then whittled down to the Final Four Showdown, with the eventual winner of each event taking a cheque for a whopping $100,000 - the richest one day payout in rodeo.

With the cowboys and barrel racers competing for at least four consecutive days, rodeo fans were able to get to know the competitors even better. For Montana saddle bronc rider, Dan Mortenson, the chance to spend some time with the fans was important. "Being able to go up there and spend four days in Calgary, probably the greatest rodeo city in the world, and ride every day, well, how much better can it get than that," says Mortenson.

Mike Casey is the Stampede board director responsible for rodeo. "Our goal with the new format was to create the world's best rodeo for cowboys, cowgirls and for rodeo fans who come from all over the world to see the Calgary Stampede," says Casey. "We're thrilled with the reaction we've received from the athletes and fans alike. We'll build on this year's achievements which we believe will contribute to the overall success of the professional sport of rodeo."

The success of the new format also showed at the ticket office. Reserved rodeo ticket sales were up significantly, by 10 % and overall attendance grew by 4%.