Thuggish bulls and swarthy sheep will rumble through Cardiff this weekend as the county’s annual bull-riding competition leaps out of the gate.
About 500 rodeo fans are expected at the Sturgeon Agricultural Centre in Cardiff Saturday for the eighth-annual Tearin’ Up the Turf bull-and-mutton-busting contest. The Morinville & District Agricultural Society organizes the event, which used to be called Bullarama.
This is the second year the society has held the event indoors, says president Barry Bradley. The group opened its new barn last year to give riders shelter from frequent summer storms.
The event was a hit, Bradley says, but some fans got a little too close to the fence around the bullring for comfort despite repeated warnings. “It’s dangerous,” he said. “Some of them bulls have long horns and if they ever go through [the fence] and there’s someone standing there, it could do some damage.”
The society will have staff to keep people back from the fence this year for safety.
Some families had trouble pushing strollers through the dirt last year, he continued, so staffers have laid down plywood for them around the bleachers. They’ve also moved the barbecue closer to the barn to make lunch more convenient.
For $12 at the gate, fans can enjoy about two hours of furious bull-riding as 30 riders tackle 30 bulls for cash, Bradley said. The kids can get in on the act too by wrangling aggressive sheep in the mutton-busting competition or chill with more relaxed critters at the petting zoo.
The event is the society’s way of promoting farms in the community, Bradley says. “We’ve never made money off it yet, but we’re coming close to breaking even.”
Doors open at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The actual bull-riding starts at 4 p.m. Call Monica at 780-939-6163 for details.
