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Local rodeo set for Labour Day weekend

Former Cloverdale Rodeo Association VP Rich Kitos listed as committee contact
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Stacey Northey makes a turn during barrel racing at Langley Riders arena in 2020. According to rodeocanada.com, an entity called Valley West Stampede Society, led by former Cloverdale Rodeo board executive Rich Kitos, is set to bring a rodeo to Langley in September. (Ron McCarthy/Special to Black Press Media)

There may be a rodeo in the Lower Mainland this year after all.

After the Cloverdale Rodeo & Country Fair was cancelled for the third year in a row, an entity called “Valley West Stampede Society” seems poised to bring rodeo entertainment to the area.

According to rodeocanada.com, Valley West Stampede Society has been approved to host a “special event” in Langley in September. (Approval is still pending for two U.S. associations, the PRCA and WPRA, that govern men’s and women’s athletes south of the line.)

The Cloverdale Reporter confirmed with the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association the event has been approved and as far as they’re concerned the rodeo is a go.

The committee contact is listed as Rich Kitos, the former vice-president of the Cloverdale Rodeo & Exhibition Association. Kitos was a rodeo board VP until he resigned in November, 2021, in the middle of his two-year term. His resignation fell one month after an emotionally-charged Rodeo Association AGM in October that saw former president Shannon Claypool and former VP Dale Saip lose their bids at reelection.

The Reporter reached out to Kitos, but he did not return calls by publication time.

SEE ALSO: Shannon Claypool out as president of Rodeo Association

Gerry Spielmacher, president of the Cloverdale Rodeo & Exhibition Association, said he has heard of the rodeo.

“My own personal thoughts are that it’ll be good if they do a good job,” he said, noting that any promotion of rodeo events can only augment the profile of the sport and help raise the profile of the Cloverdale Rodeo when it returns in 2023.

“It’s something positive. It won’t hurt us,” he said. “But we’re not involved in any way.”

The event entry on rodeocanada.com lists 4303 208th Street as the site for the rodeo grounds. That’s the location of the Langley Riders outdoor arena.

Three performances are scheduled for 2 p.m. each day, Sept. 3, 4, and 5.

The rodeo is deemed a “special event” by the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association as it will only have four events. It would need seven events to be classified as a “rodeo.”

According to Pro Rodeo Canada, Valley West Stampede Society will host four events: bareback riding, barrel racing, saddle bronc riding, and bull riding. These are the same four events held at the Cloverdale Rodeo.

The purse for each event is listed at $20,000 and the stock contractor is listed at Duane Kesler Championship Rodeo.

For more information visit rodeocanada.com.



editor@cloverdalereporter.com

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Malin Jordan

About the Author: Malin Jordan

Malin is the editor of the Cloverdale Reporter.
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