ORGANISERS say they have no immediate plans to expand the Queanbeyan Rodeo beyond the current day-long program despite this year’s event drawing another record crowd.
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But rodeo president Mark Mills admits the idea has been discussed and that in future, staging a two-day event was not beyond the realms of possibility.
An estimated 5000 spectators turned out for last Saturday’s rodeo; the largest crowd since the annual event was revived in 1999.
The attendance figures confirm Queanbeyan’s standing as one of the biggest single-day rodeos in Australia.
Expanding the rodeo into a second day would be a major logistical undertaking and would require a significant increase in the amount of prize money the organisers would be required to provide.
With the event having steadily grown in popularity every year for the past decade, Mills said there had been talk among committee members of eventually going down that path.
‘‘It’s an idea we’ve played with and there have been thoughts of that happening in the future,’’ he said.
‘‘You talk to any of the competitors or stock contractors, they’ll tell you Queanbeyan’s the best rodeo they do all year.
"The only other rodeos that compare in terms of size and the number of competitors are events held over two or three days.
‘‘The issue is whether or not we can get a crowd to support it. It’s no good running it if there’s no one there to see it.
‘‘If we can think of something to put in play that’ll draw a crowd over a couple of days, then it would be a possibility.’’
While keeping one eye on future opportunities for growth, Mills said the rodeo would remain in its current form for at least another year.
The idea of enlarging the event received backing from at least one top rider with reigning two-time Australian all-around champion Joel Mancell lending his support to the proposal.
Having taken part in every Queanbeyan Rodeo for the past eight years, Mancell knows better than most the appeal the event holds for those competing in the industry.
‘‘Queanbeyan is a big paying rodeo already, all the top competitors seem to go there,’’ he said. ‘‘If they made it bigger it’d definitely be a good thing.
‘‘A big thing would be the prize money. If you wanted to hold it over two days you’d have to double the money on offer but, no doubt, they’d get twice as many competitors if they did.’’
Mancell continued his quest for an unprecedented third straight ABCRA national title on Saturday after taking out all-around honours.
Nicole Fitzpatrick claimed victory in the women’s all-around event.