It was another good year for the Manitoba High School Rodeo Association and President Trevor Gompf is quite happy with where things are and excited for where they're going.
Looking back, there's a highlight in particular that Gompf is proud of. "The last few years, our association has hosted the Canadian High School Rodeo Association Finals. That's where the top six in the high school and top five in the junior high in each province come to Brandon for the Canadian Finals."
Seeing the passion and dedication from the kids is something Gompf can't speak about highly enough. "It's pretty exciting to watch these kids grow. They start in grade five and go right to grade 12, and you can see the improvement of the individual and their horses. Every year the growth is unbelievable."
Building a strong, supportive community around the competitors is something that's been very important to Gompf and everyone within the association. "The rodeo athletes, they cheer each other on even though they're in competition. They all realize that it's an individual sport, other than the team roping, so they realize that their competition is within themselves."
Down the road, Gompf says the future is a bright one. "I see it really gaining traction. We've started a few things quite a few years ago in Manitoba, called Little Buckaroo's. It goes in some of the rodeo's, they'll have the Little Buckaroo events, and it's usually after the rodeo is over, it's for kids under grade five. They have event's for the kids to do and that's really growing. We've had upwards of 50 kids show up just to take part in that, so I see the future being very strong in Manitoba."
It's not just the numbers of competitors that's important, Gompf says venues and community support are also crucial. "We're limited in Manitoba , especially in the spring because of our weather and the shortage of indoor facilities. In the fall, we can go later in the year and it is nice we can spread ourselves out around Manitoba. We can host all over and not just be situated in one area."
At the core of it all, it's family interacting at events or after that really is at the heart of the rodeo. "We've got families that are multi-generational rodeo families," Gompf says proudly. "We've got some families that are totally new, that have no idea what rodeo is about, but their kids are into rodeo so they joined. They've learned quick the ins and outs of how things work and it's just like taking your kid to hockey or baseball if you've never played before, you quickly learn. Most important, everyone is very supportive and always up for helping each other out."
Athletes from across the province continue to work as the next big event in Brandon draws closer.