Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Cowpokes mosey on down to the stampede
JANEK LOWE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Enlarge Image
Alberta bullfighter, Scott Byrne, sizes up the bull that threw him into the air at last year's Morris stampede.
MORRIS -- Just a short drive south of Winnipeg, you'll find the land of chaps, cowboy boots and bucking broncos, but it's for four days only.
Rain or shine, the 47th annual Manitoba Stampede and Exhibition will go on in Morris, if only a little late.
"We've never, ever not run the rodeo in 47 years," said board member Tim Lewis, as he took shelter from the storm Thursday under one of the Stampede grounds' few structures.
"They'll try and perform no matter what," said Lewis, of the more than 100 rodeo participants. Slippery track conditions are a concern, but it takes a full-out thunder and lightning storm to really shut things down.
Thursday afternoon, country tunes filled the air despite the live music mainstage being closed due to pouring rain.
Cowboy hats mingled with umbrellas and ponchos in the grandstands as the first chuckwagon races were delayed till the evening. Small crowds left the stands shaking their heads, wondering where to go.
"Why'd it have to happen on our vacation?" asked Trinda Lee Haines. She's attended the rodeo with her husband for more than a decade.
"We'll hang around, find some place to take shelter," said Joseph Haines. "Then we'll see what happens later in the day."
The Winnipeggers made the trip for the day with their daughter, friend in tow. While the parents said they enjoy the barrel racing and rodeo, their daughter gave a different reason for coming along.
"The cowboys," said Brittany Haines with a smile, dressed in her country best.
The rodeo does its best to appeal to everyone, and they'll work hard to keep the show going.
Behind the perogy and mini-donut carts, a vendor scooped gravel into bags to help anchor his tent in place through the gusty, wet weather.
Even the rumble of thunder couldn't stop the midway rides from warming up at a dizzying pace.
"The marquis things that we are selling here is the chuckwagon races and the rodeo," said Lewis. "On our fair side we have all the different horse shows and dairy shows. Friday and Saturday nights we have a big social, like a cabaret."
He said hotel rooms are typically booked solid, but notes Morris is close enough to Winnipeg for city-dwellers to take in the rodeo as a day trip.
Lewis predicted the rainy weather would dissipate and as many as 25,000 cowboys and cowgirls would head to the stampede this year.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 23, 2010 A9
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