Bullarama Supreme Delights Crowd of 1,200 Fans

Bullarama Supreme Delights Crowd of 1,200 Fans

Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

An estimated crowd of 1,200 fans packed the stands at the Conrad Schinkinger Memorial Grounds near Lamont to watch Canada’s top bull riders in action on May 6.

The 28th annual Bullarama Supreme did not disappoint in any way and young fans got a chance to get up close and personal with their cowboy heroes before the bulls started bucking Saturday evening. Lamont & District Agricultural Society SecretaryTreasurer and Event Committee Chair Rebecca Green said they hosted the meet and greet back in 2015 and decided to reintroduce it this year.

High flying action.

(Michelle Pinon/Photo)

Green stated that, “As part of our mission statement, educating our community on the sport of rodeo is important, so we wanted to incorporate that into this event a little further with our youth. We have the Kid’s Rodeo as part of the Summer Sizzler events, and needed to add something to Bullarama. It was a great turnout, especially for something we planned a little last minute. We want to grow it into something bigger for next year, so stay tuned.”

Volunteering plays a huge role in the success of the event that has been in the planning stages since January. Green said they have a planning committee of 10 members who have been working diligently hard over the past three months.

Bullarama Champion Beau Gardner on his final ride of the night.

(Michelle Pinon/Photo)

Additionally, “We had approximately 60 volunteers on site during the event that put in 300 hours that day. We do offer other community groups who want to fundraise for their projects $15/hour. The only group who took us up on this opportunity was the Ardrossan Bison Football Club, who will get approximately $1,500 for helping us.”

As far as the bull riding action, the evening belonged to cowboy Beau Gardner, who hails from Arrowhead, Alberta. He took home $8,600 for his efforts. Green explained that, “We are a double point event for the BRC, (Bull Riders Canada) as we pay out more than $5,000 in added money. There are a number of other events that also give double points, but we are the first of the season. So yes, Beau Gardner made out huge on Saturday night with the winning ride being a double point for his season standings, but he also was a double entry rider with the 2nd place ride. Double entries typically become available due to a rider becoming unable to compete between the day entries close and the event.”

Young fans enjoying the meet and greet session.

(Lamont & District Agricultural Society/Submitted Photo)

Bullarama Supreme is one of two major fundraisers for the Lamont & District Agricultural Society, with the other fundraiser being the Summer Sizzler Rodeo which takes place in early July. Green said, “The majority of our profits will go to operations. However, we have a couple major renovation projects we have been considering and have grant applications pending for. We are hopeful those will come through and these proceeds can also be put towards our matching portion.”

High flying action.

(Michelle Pinon/Photo)