Novice Bareback Rider Quaide Skjonsberg will be holding the Quaide Skjonsberg Invitational Riggin Rally on New Year's Eve.
Riggin rallies, which are invitational bareback riding events, take place all over the United States.
"I had joked around about having an event one day on my own like this, and I just kind of started to talk about it more and more because in Canada, we kind of lack bareback riders and a place for bareback riders to go," said Skjonsberg in a recent interview.
The joke turned into a reality when the Bluffton rodeo athlete sat down and started planning.
The rodeo will take place at 7:00 p.m. at the Rimbey Agrim Centre. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
"It should be a good event and bring lots of people into the town of Rimbey for the night."
Skjonsberg said he invited 20 bareback riders to come out, with some semi-pro and pro bareback riders. There will also be a few high school bareback riders in attendance.
"I invited 10 mini pony riders to come as a way to give back to younger kids just starting out and give them a place to go in the middle of winter," he said.
They will buck 20 pro and semi-pro bareback riders, along with 10 mini pony riders, as a halftime show. The top six from the 20 bareback riders will come back for the short round and pick their horses, and the winner will then walk away with a bunch of money and a Troy Fischer belt buckle.
There will also be a cabaret to follow the event.
Reflecting on his season, Skjonsberg said he had a good year, making the LRA Finals and the WRA Finals, along with the High School Finals in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
"The National High School Finals in Rock Springs was my first finals and I ended up third in the world down there, and then I came up here and I won my second LRA title, and then went and won my second WRA title."
Skjonsberg is currently in Grade 11, and although the rodeo season slows down in the winter, he will be busy looking forward to his rodeo come Dec, 31.
Tickets for adults are $35 and youth 10 and up are $25. They can be purchased at Stationary Stories & Sounds, Jones Boys in Ponoka and Cowboy Creek in Leduc.
