THE Merrijig Rodeo attracted a capacity crowd to its annual event held on the Labour Day weekend with many saying it was an “awesome” show for all the family with Australia’s top cowboys including local Will Purcell strutting their stuff undeterred by the hot dry conditions at McCormack Park.
“In the last two to three years the popularity of the rodeo has really skyrocketed,” said Merrijig Rodeo Association’s secretary Donna Howton.
“The crowds were slightly up reaching our capacity of 4,500 people with the majority of tickets pre-booked,” she said, adding the crowd behaviour was good.
This year the committee organised more buses running to and from Mansfield to Merrijig with all seats quickly sold out.
There was an earlier bus leaving town at 3pm which allowed patrons to get to the rodeo in time to catch some of the junior competitions including the local steer ride before the main action from 6pm, Ms Howton said.
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A keenly contested competition each year is the Jess Hearn Memorial Local Steer Ride which was taken out by Maddy Theobald.
A new initiative this year was to include some extra activities for adults and children for more “crowd engagement” out on the arena.
“Kid’s activities included whip cracking by Riley Hilton from CR Whips at Benalla and roping demonstrations,” she said.
“The number of kids in the arena was double to what we had in 2024, it went off like fireworks,” Ms Howton.
The adults who tested their skills in the mechanical bull riding competition which was capped at 20 participants were awarded points with prizes donated by Mansfield Fishing & Hunting.
“We had a full slate of the top competitors from across the country and in every category,” said Ms Howton.
"It was really good with all the big names," she said.
Local Will Purcell who managed a third in the bull ride and north east Victorian bareback bronc rider Jarrod McKane one of the best names going around on the circuit were crowd pleasers
Adding to some of the "best crowd engagement" in five years Ms Howton said announcer Matt Burns and the audio-visual display from Light and Sound Solutions created a fantastic vibe throughout the rodeo.
As always, a huge thank you to all the sponsors including Tradeflex boasting a 28-year commitment to the rodeo she said.
The upgraded sponsors' area was well received this year.
The rodeo also depends on an army of dedicated volunteers to ensure the success of the day with many community groups also involved in the onsite catering which boosts their fundraising efforts each year.
Ms Howton did admit there was an issue with long queues for the bar especially during the busy periods.
Unfortunately, organisers were not made aware of a change to the liquor license until the last minute which required only two alcoholic drinks to be sold to an individual after 8pm she said.
This will be addressed during a committee debrief.
Once the committee recovers from this year's event it will be time to commence planning for the 50th anniversary of the Merrijig Rodeo in 2026 with some special additions to celebrate the milestone.
Final results listing as published by APRA for Merrijig Rodeo:
All Round One competition:
Junior steer ride -
1 Matty Ahern
2 Chace Wensley
2 Dion Flanagan
4 Joseph Foxlee
Junior barrel race -
1 Brandy Durbidge
2 Madeline Grosvenor
3 Olivia Foxlee
4 Lara Hunter-Boyd
Junior breakaway roping -
1 Ethan Michaelis
2 Kade O'Dea
2 Dion Flanagan
4 Madison Harland
Saddle bronc ride -
1 Callum Clement
1 David Stacey
3 Tom Kerr
4 James Sclanders
4 Will Crosby
6 Bailey O'dell
Bull ride -
1 Toby Collins
2 Kyle Horton
3 Will Purcell
Bareback bronc ride -
1 Jarrod McKane
2 David Stacey
3 Brock Mulhall
Rope and tie -
1 Lochlan Flanagan
1 Jackson Dixson
3 Jay R Marsh
4 Campbell Hodson
5 Warrick Hale
6 Shane Kenny
Steer wrestling -
1 Jace Land
2 Gavin Walker
3 Ryley Gibb
4 Adam Knowles
4 Thomas Whitwell
6 William - Billy Guilford
0 Cooper Roche
Team roping -
1 Hayden Litchfield -Open TR - Heeler
1 Dylan Litchfield - Open TR - Header
2 Kevin Reynolds Jnr - Open TR - Header
2 Trent Reynolds - Open TR - Heeler
3 Tyler Kenny - Open TR - Heeler
3 Ellysa Kenny - Open TR - Header
4 Darcy Dall'Aglio - Open TR - Header
4 Ethan Michaelis - Open TR - Header
5 Aaron Bookluck - Open TR - Heeler
5 Terry Evison - Open TR - Heeler
6 Scott Shegog - Open TR - Heeler
6 Gene McDonald - Open TR - Header
Barrel race -
1 Wendy Caban
2 Anna Hamilton
3 Cherie O'Donoghue
4 Tyra Spring
5 Lyndell Mittelstadt
6 Olivia Priestley Halliday
Breakaway roping -
1 Holly Forster
2 Sharon McGuire
3 Jane Ryan
4 Katie Vohland
5 Jamie Cottam
6 Jessica Cottam
Second division bull ride -
1 Matty Ahern
2 Jesse Pendendergast
3 Jackson Jefferies
