By David Kavanagh | posted on January 9, 2020
ALBANY’S annual Kalgan Stampede rodeo will not be going ahead this summer after efforts to find it a new operator last year proved unsuccessful.
Coordinator Tom Kennedy approached a Perth-based company to take the reins in July after the endeavour became too much of a burden for him to bear on his own.
He said while plans to get the rodeo up and running just after Boxing Day fell through, he had hope a local crew with a strong volunteer base would step forward to coordinate future iterations.
“We thought we’d be better off waiting a year, revising, observing the tourists and gaining a better understanding of when is a good time to try and run it, ” Mr Kennedy told the Weekender.
“I don’t want to stress out my family, to pour our hearts and souls into the rodeo over Christmas and the new year, and then find we only get half the amount of people and owe $20,000 plus to local businesses at the end of it.”
Mr Kennedy has been running the Kalgan Stampede, which features barrel racing, calf steering, mustering and other activities, since its three-day debut in 2018.
He said poor ticket sales at its early 2019 run were the result of a list of challenges somewhat unique to Albany.
“We need to rely on the tourists to come to the event because the locals either don’t want to go, don’t know that it’s on or would rather sit at home and watch something on Netflix,” he explained.
“But you can’t afford to clash with anyone else’s events. If it isn’t a rodeo, it’s another event like horse racing, speedway or the City of Albany’s Australia Day celebrations at Middleton.”
“There’s many boxes you’ve got to tick through government departments, regulations, all the different insurance issues.
“It’s a lot tricker to run events nowadays than it was back in the ’70s and ’80s.”
Mr Kennedy also helms Albany Tenpin Bowling and used to operate the town’s Central 70 Drive-In which officially closed last April.
He said a rodeo had a lot to offer a community like Albany because it promoted rural lifestyle skills like mustering and horse activities and was a drawcard for visitors.
“It’s the excitement, the power, the speed, the adrenaline rush,” he said.
“The bulls are the main attraction, they are the absolute superstars of the arena.”
