BUNGENDORE Charity Rodeo president Greg Darmody says it’s “ridiculous” that two of the region’s biggest sporting events have been scheduled on the same day.
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Both the Bungendore Rodeo and the Queanbeyan Cup will take place this Sunday; the first time the two events have fallen on the same date.
The clash comes after QRacing last year switched the Cup from its traditional date in April to October.
The move was made to coincide with the Spring Racing Carnival and in a bid to ensure better weather for the club’s marquee meet.
But hitting out at the timing of this year’s Cup, Darmody said the rodeo had a long established tradition of being held on the last Sunday in October.
“It just seems ridiculous, I mean, they [Queanbeyan Racing] know [the rodeo] has always been on then… I don’t see why they have to creep up on our date,” he said.
“They have obviously moved from a date that it has been on in the past and I don’t see why they have had to crunch in on top of us.”
“There is quite a similar attraction between our events and we have a lot of similarities to the racing crowd.”
QRacing racing administrator Brendan Comyn, however, said he was confident the scheduling clash would have little impact on either event.
“With the exception of there being horses at the two venues, I don’t think there are any similarities in terms of the entertainment we provide and the crowd we draw,” Comyn said.
And while Darmody questioned why the Cup could not have been held on a different date, Comyn said Queanbeyan’s racing calendar was almost entirely determined by Racing NSW, not QRacing.
Despite the clash, Darmody said he was confident that the full rodeo schedule and the “terrific facilities” would make for a good day’s entertainment.
“It should be a great day out with plenty of entertainment and good tucker,” he said.
Gates open from 9am with the majority of the action getting underway by 11am.
Prices range from free for under 12s up to $20 for adults with all funds raised going to the local Catholic and Anglican churches.
The Queanbeyan Cup will be held at Queanbeyan Racecourse, McCrae Street. The first race of the meet’s eight-race program will be at 1.25pm with the Cup itself to jump at 4.20pm.
