By Angie Sullivan  (photo by Dan Peer)

 

The RAM Rodeo Tour will be bringing thrills and spills to over 15 towns in Ontario this year. Not only are these shows a chance for the community to congregate and a boost to local tourism, but they also raise money for charities such as TUFF, a therapeutic riding foundation that supports the mental health of at-risk youth. 

The season began Saturday, May 24, with the Grey Highlands show held over two days in Feversham, Ont. at the Osprey Community Arena. 

Rodeo is the adrenaline-fueled evolution of the agricultural fair, which traces back to the early 1900s in Alberta. The RAM Rodeo Tour is focused on Eastern Ontario and began in the early 2000s. Many of the competitions are taken from the day-to-day chores of a cowboy on a big ranch and celebrate the spirit of Canadian ranching.

Each RAM Rodeo features the same set of events, and at the end of the season in October, a big finals is held in Ancaster, Ontario, with a three-day show crowning all the champions.

Men and women compete in bull riding, barrel racing, saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, pole bending, and rescue race. Rescue race has its roots in military history, derived from the daring horseback maneuvers used to rescue wounded soldiers from active battlefields. Additional entertainment includes the Canadian Cowgirls drill team, a kids’ rodeo, trick riding, and sometimes even a full cowboy social with music.  

It was a very emotional day for local Patsy McMahon Wells from Dundalk, Ont. Wells was very successful at the RAM Rodeo in 2024 and the Grey Highland rodeo marked her best horse, Beau’s, return to the rodeo ring. Beau was injured last summer, and his future as a rodeo horse hung in the balance. The bay gelding made his return after some time off, proving his resilience, and came back as good as ever. The team won the day with both her poles and barrel racing performances. 

“There were more than a few tears today,” says Wells. “It has been a long emotional road all winter to get to today, and my boy showed up and at the end of the rodeo, he walked back onto the trailer sound.”

Wells is no stranger to the adrenaline-filled atmosphere of the rodeo. “I have been involved in rodeo since I was about five years old, running around what was once Rolling Acres Ranch. 

Even all the rain in the forecast for Feversham didn’t wash out good spirits. Over 130 cowboys and cowgirls braved downpours and splashed around in the mud while performing to a sold-out crowd. Bull riding, saddle bronc, and bareback bronc riding require staying on a bucking animal while trying to last for eight seconds to get a time. All rides end the same way. The competitor ends up catapulted to the ground. In the torrential downpours on Sunday, this meant landing in a ring of mud. 
Ross Millar from the Ross Millar Entertainment Group runs the rodeo and said, “Despite cold, rainy weather, the town’s RAM Rodeo saw great crowds. We were thrilled with the turnout considering the conditions and especially happy that the crowd stayed through until the last bull bucked.”

Millar always reminds spectators that men and women compete for equal payouts and said, “There is close to $300,000 up for grabs throughout the tour.”

Gideon Stutzman from Owen Sound won the whole weekend in the saddle broncs, which is the oldest and most iconic of the rodeo events. Riding bucking horses is inspired by the real-life skills that cowboys on a cattle ranch needed to tame wild horses so they could be ridden for work. 

Stutzman said, “It always feels good to win the hometown rodeo in front of family and friends!”

Isaak Siemens from St. Catherines, Ont. also lasted his full eight seconds in the bareback division. In this event, the cowboy rides without a saddle, gripping only a rigging strapped around the horse’s midsection. The judging criteria focus less on form and more on control and visible effort. 

Often called the most dangerous event, bull riding is a crowd favourite and was originally more of a sideshow in the early days of rodeo. It has since evolved into a mainstay of most professional rodeo circuits and is always the last event of the day at the RAM Rodeo. 

Although there are winners of the day, the final results are tabulated based on all performances that took place over the weekend. Patsy McMahon Wells ended up third in barrel race and second in the pole race with a total payout of $1800.
There will be two more rodeos in our region this season. July 18-19 in Erin and October 4-5 in Wasaga Beach. 

Visit the RAM Rodeo website at https://www.ramrodeoontario.com/p/schedule.html for more information and to go catch some of the action this season. ◊