Law enforcement officers are used to dealing with unpredictable situations, but they found out last weekend that chasing criminals and riding large animals are two completely different challenges.
More than 100 police officers from Western Canada and the United States competed in the 28th annual Calgary Police Rodeo, the only police rodeo in the country, at the Airdrie Pro Rodeo Grounds, Aug. 21.
Mike Cavilla, police rodeo president, said all of the law enforcement officers had a fantastic time in the various rodeo disciplines and that the event was a success.
“We had a really strong showing Saturday and I think our numbers at the gate exceeded any other event that we’ve had so far,” he said. “The weather co-operated, the livestock bucked and we had a great time.”
Greg Blades of the Calgary Police Service (CPS) won the all-around contest, as well as the buckle in the saddle bronc event. The CPS’ Jordan Glaicar and Tom Bain claimed the bull riding and bareback respectively.
CPS officer Peter Svinth-Lassen was the Fantasy Adventure bull riding champion, while Amanda Kochan, who was also Miss Calgary Stampede in 2007, won the ladies barrel racing.
The CPS team of Steve Weninger, James Lines and Jarod Harper claimed victory in the wild horse race, while Dean and Barclay Dahlstrom of Regina RCMP won the team roping. Barclay also won the break-away roping.
“The cowboy cops did a great job of competing,” Cavilla said. “We had some really lively rides in both the bareback and the bull riding. There were also some pretty mean wrecks, but no major injuries. Other than a few bumps and bruises, there was no major damage done.”
Following the police rodeo was the Johansen Brothers Bull Riding Classic 2010, featuring 30 professional bull riders and a winning performance by Milo’s Garth Oldfield.
“That was a real success as well,” Cavilla said. “In the intermission, we played some cowboy poker, with two corrections officers in there - a Canada Post guy and a lawyer. It was really entertaining and the crowd loved it.”
Cavilla said the rodeo was a great day, but added the real purpose of the event was to raise money for the Missing Children’s Society of Canada.
“It’s an organization dedicated to providing an investigative search program to assist police and parents for runaway and abducted kids here in Canada,” he said.
“It’s a great cause and we’ve been successful in raising money the last number of years. We’re obviously still processing the numbers, but we’re optimistic that the donation to the Missing Children’s Society is going to be strong this year.”
