Just as the audience settles into their seats, all the lights will go out. Then, it will be Rocky Mountain Riders time to shine.

The opening of the Jasper Heritage Rodeo will involve a presentation that would have definitely been impossible when the first rodeo and field day took place on the Henry House Flats eighty years ago. Eight riders, clad in the glow in the dark outfits, will dazzle the audience with a high-speed precision riding program. And that’s just the beginning.

The stars of the show, at least for those few nocturnal moments at the beginning of the opening night, are the Riders, a group from Hinton and area that has been part of the Jasper rodeo for many years.

“It’s a group of women and some of our kids, we practice once a week and then travel to rodeos all over Alberta and Western Canada,” said Terry Gideon, a senior member of the group. Gideon has been one of the Riders for eight years now.

“I’d been riding for years before I started with the group,” she said. “It was actually started years ago in Jasper, a Miss Rodeo Canada princess put it together the first year with a short program for the rodeo and it just grew from there.”

The Rocky Mountain Riders grew up, and out, no longer based in the park due to the fact that most of the group live in Hinton and area. Travelling and participating in rodeos is what the summer season is all about for Gideon and her cohort, no matter the conditions. The group was recently at an event in Grande Prairie where a persistent rain drenched spectators and participants alike. At least they can be guaranteed a dry ride in Jasper, but the indoor rodeo imposes its own restrictions on their performance.

“It’s a smaller arena, so for safety reasons only eight of us can participate,” Gideon said. The Riders have 12 regular members this year.

For the uninitiated, precision riding is all about speed, coordination and music. Think of the RCMP Musical Ride and you’ve got the idea.

“We really focus on control of the horses, spacing between the riders and building up to different maneuvers that are difficult to pull off,” said Gideon. Although she has a hard time explaining some of the riskier actions without the aid of a diagram, her description of “the box”, where four riders take off from the corners of the arena at top speed and form a tight box in the centre is enough to make anyone who has ever been in the saddle appreciate the degree of difficulty.

“The fact is, any of the maneuvers are dangerous, because they happen at top speed. We do criss-crosses and all sorts of things where one horse in the wrong position could lead to serious injuries.”

Their program is intended to impress, but the all-female Riders are a training group for young riders as well as a competitive team, so don’t expect a complete high-wire act. Not only that, but this season they are breaking in four new colts.

“That’s been interesting,” said Gideon. “They’ve done very well though.” 

The team has placed well at the Calgary Stampede competitions and won a fourth-place prize at a recent international competition. By reputation and performance, they are rated the top precision riding team in Alberta.

“It’s just a lot of fun to ride with your friends and your family,” Gideon said.