By Grace Jones | posted on November 24, 2017
THE rodeo is coming to town – and it’s all thanks to a couple of cheeky horses that were rescued from certain death.
Albany businessman Tom Kennedy saved Molly and Junior at the eleventh hour and says the love of horses sparked memories of the rodeos he used to attend at Manypeaks as a kid.
From there the idea was born to bring the rodeo back for people in the Great Southern.
The planning is complete and preparation is now well underway for the inaugural Kalgan Stampede in January next year, with earthworks already progressing at the Kalgan River Chalets and Caravan Park site on Nanarup Road, where the event will be held over three days from January 12.
“I used to go to the rodeo in the 70s and 80s as a kid,” Mr Kennedy said.
“I’m hoping that the Kalgan Stampede will continue the tradition of the Manypeaks Rodeo from 30 years ago.
“I started the process around December last year when the caravan park said we could hold the event there.
“They’ve been great with allowing us the space we need for people to camp and to keep their animals.
“We’ve also been working closely with the Australian Bushmen’s Campdraft and Rodeo Association, which is the governing body for rodeo in the country.
“They’ve helped us with the venue and how to actually run the event.
“At the end of the day when everyone rocks up, we really need to look like we know what we’re doing.”
Mr Kennedy admitted that it has been hard to organise such a big event; however, he praised the help many local businesses had been contributing.
“The City of Albany has been great. They really want to bring the Stampede to fruition,” he said.
“I’m hoping to do enough that it will get people to want to come back the next year and be able to make the next year a longer event.
“I want to do something different than the standard rodeo.”
For more information on the Kalgan Stampede, you can visit their website or Facebook page.
