Roe Lake Interlakes Rodeo chairman Gary Cleveland remembers competing in rodeo as a teenager.
“Back in high school it was cow riding and bareback riding,” laughed Cleveland “and then I got smart and quit.”
Although he hadn’t been born when the Bridge Lake Stampede got its start, Cleveland spent probably 12 years as its chairman before moving over to the Interlakes when it was built. “When I hit 20 years, then I said ‘Okay, it’s time for somebody else to take over’ so I took a break,” he said. “I’ve been back for four or five years now.”
The Interlakes Rodeo got its start in 1991 with Cleveland holding the reins. A Free Press story on the debut event stated: “The Interlakes community pulled together and produced one of the best rodeo facilities in B.C., judging from the comments. Constant praise came from all the contestants, riders and some 1000 spectators on how well the holding stalls were built and managed.”
The one-day rodeo boasted the usual events such as calf roping, bull riding and barrel racing with stock being provided by Red Creek Ranch and Bix Ranch. All-around cowboy went to Grant Fosberry while Allison White took the title of all-around cowgirl. The $2,500 purse was divided between the major events.
Since then, the Interlakes Rodeo has grown into a two-day British Columbia Rodeo Association (BCRA) sanctioned event that draws competitors from all over.
“As far as family entertainment and family fun, it’s a great place. And a lot of these rodeos are great meeting places for people. That’s the big thing. They go to the rodeo to see their neighbours that they don’t get to see because their neighbours are taking the day off too,” he said. “I know Bridge Lake was always known for that, you know, people just came there to see friends they hadn’t seen since the previous year.”
Rodeo chairmen over the years have included Cleveland, Carney Myers, the late Dan Lytton and Jim Zailo.
Zailo does a lot of the maintenance around the rodeo grounds. “We’ve built a new concession since I’ve been here and redone all the old houses and most of the other buildings, repair on the barn, grounds work, all sorts of stuff,” he said. “It’s a great facility.”
The old-time families who lived in the area and put the rodeo grounds together did a phenomenal job of it, Zailo added.
“I mean, it’s irreplaceable. Financially it would be impossible to replace it, especially in a community this size, but it’s definitely a credit to the community,” he said. “There’s no question about it, and it’s one of the major events that happens in this whole 100 Mile area each year.
Unlike the Bridge Lake Stampede which started as a picnic, the Interlakes Rodeo was acquired and designed as a rodeo right from the beginning. “We got a great barn. There were 32 stalls, 16 outdoors and 16 inside stalls. Now, there’s a fair amount of property. I think there’s three or four acres there and a lot of the guys camp for the weekend when they come here,” Zailo said. “It’s a two-day event rather than Bridge Lake’s one day, right? So it’s pretty much a party, you know, for a weekend.”
He added that the BCRA has said Interlakes puts on one of the best shows in the rodeo circuit, something both he and Cleveland credit to the rodeo’s sponsors and amazing volunteers.
“The biggest thing is it’s just hard for both rodeos because it’s hard to get people to help,” remarked Cleveland. “We do have a pretty good team, but it’s still hard.”
Cleveland said you have to “really, really” appreciate all the people that do help because they go out of their way to make it work and so many people would rather just stand back, or say ‘oh gosh, I don’t want to get in the way’. “Well, you’re not in the way.”
When asked about the number of small rodeos that have closed their doors over the years, he immediately said it is due to the lack of help. It puts it back on only a few people. If they can dig up a few people to help, it happens. It’s just the way things are. Everybody used to be really community-minded but it’s not that way anymore, said Cleveland.
Sponsors are equally important. “As long as we get the support from our sponsors, because we couldn’t do without them. And, you know, we’re really lucky that we do have such great sponsors and it doesn’t matter if it’s the BC Rodeo Association itself or the individual rodeos, you know, in the different towns where the businesses support them,” said Cleveland. “You know, if you didn’t have that - there are some grants available to help but most of it is all local sponsors that make it happen.”
Keeping the rodeo going requires an ongoing commitment from organizers. They even have a tasting committee to pick out the burger patties they are going to sell. They get some sample burgers, cook them up and decide which one has the best flavour. “We’re absolutely definitive about making sure we give people the best burger they’ve ever had,” said Zailo.
Deciding how many burgers to order is based on a few different factors. Records are kept from previous years plus they phone the other rodeos which procede them to see what their turnout was.
“We got double-crossed last year because, after COVID-19, all the rodeos preceding us had huge turnouts, like, up 30 - 35 per cent. So we ordered more food,” said Zailo. “And then, the two days we had our rodeo last year, the first day was beautiful. We had a full house. And then, the second day was 35 degrees. Well, everybody went to the lake.”
This summer, ginseng mesh was put up over the grandstands to help protect spectators from the summer sun. “There’s going to be lots of shade for people if it turns out to be a sweltering day,” said Zailo.
One of his favourite rodeo memories was in 2018, when the RCMP Musical Ride performed during the halftime intermission. Carney Myers was rodeo chairman that year and had applied to the RCMP two years previously to bring the 32 members of the country’s federal police force to the rodeo, to showcase their skills in horse patterns and drills.
She estimated around 2,400 people came to the rodeo over the two-day event, most of them on Sunday due to the better weather.
“Believe me, the place was packed,” Zailo said. “Full marks to the RCMP staff for the Musical Ride because they had all the little kids come in the barn and pet the horses and look at them and touch them through personal tours.”
Despite many obstacles, the Interlakes Rodeo continues to thrive. The 31st annual rodeo opened to the excitement of the Canadian wild horse show followed by crowd favourites such as bronc riding, steer wrestling and team roping.
It was non-stop action all weekend. Youngsters peeked through fences, imagining perhaps that one day they might be out there riding the bucking bull or roping cows and calves to the applause from the stands. From the lead line entries to the old-time favourites, the show did not disappoint.
It was near the end of Sunday afternoon when the announcer addressed the crowd filling the stands and milling around the grounds.
“When you come out and support like this,” he said, “it just ensures this rodeo will live on for years to come.”
With files from the simplymastery
