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The 2010 Jasper Rodeo went off without a hitch - unless you counted the one hooking the mini horse to a carriage that pulled happy little cowgirls and boys during the Little Britches Corral on Saturday.
Steve Pavlov, president of the Jasper Heritage Rodeo Committee a decade ago, said at the time that it was “probably one of the smoothest, if not the smoothest we’ve ever run”.
The rodeo averaged about 800 people per night during the four-day event.
One big seller for the weekend was the dance on Saturday night. That year the rodeo welcomed back a live band in the form of Canadian Country Music Award nominee Brett Kissel - and about 700 people showed up for the party.
Kissel performed several sets with a DJ filling in between for constant music all night.
Many volunteers and local groups helped make the event a success, including the municipality that contributed equipment, sports teams that cleaned and provided security, and more that served beer, set up and tore down the event.
As for the actual rodeo action, the competition was tight, with many of the events split between more than one cowboy and cowgirl.
The Jasper rodeo welcomed Canadian and national champions, as well as national qualifiers.
For the kids, there was the Little Britches Corral, which welcomed more than 300 children plus their families - and the day was capped off by a draw for a brand new bike, which Eli Beauchamp was lucky enough to take home.
Joining the rodeo as Little Miss Rodeo Jasper was Andrea Leitch and Jada Moorhouse. The two girls got to tour the rodeo with the royalty, Princess RaeAnn Hall and Queen Laura Leonard.
Both princess and queen had roots in the area. Hall was from Hinton and Leonard’s grandfather was one of the original outfitters in Jasper. She was one of four cousins who held the queen position at Jasper rodeo.
With files from Annalee Grant/Jasper Fitzhugh
