Wet weather during the winter months has plagued rodeo in Cootamundra but that is set to change with a gymkhana planned for late October.
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Cootamundra rodeo has been unable to hold any events since June because of the rain, the fifth gymkhana of the year has been rescheduled twice already and the club is hoping conditions dry up so the event can go ahead.
President of Cootamundra Rodeo Francis Ross has been frustrated by the wet.
“The gymkhana has been cancelled since July and we’ve tried to run it every month since.
“We want this one to go ahead because we’ve run four so far this year on a points score basis and we want to be able to finish the season,” Ross said.
The gymkhana will see competitors of all ages, from under 9s all the way through to opens, compete in a range of events.
Flag races, bending races, barrels, rope races and time trials are all on the cards for the October gymkhana.
Cootamundra Rodeo also hopes to hold a poddy calf race at the event.
Unfortunately for Ross, whether the event goes ahead or not is out of his hands.
“It’s all up to mother nature,” he said.
Ross isn’t the only one who’s hoping for good weather.
Richard Gibbs has competed in all four of this year’s gymkhanas and is keen to finish the year well.
He’s sitting in second position in the points score for the novice division and it eyeing off top spot.
“There’s a bit of rivalry there so it would be really good to win,” Gibbs said.
“It’ll be good to get it done, we’ve been waiting for a while.”
Gibbs’s favourite event is the rope race, he says it’s just pure fun, but he thinks his best events are either the flag or bending races and wants to make up some extra points in these events to close the gap between himself and first place.
With such a long wait between gymkhanas, the riders and the event organisers are praying for the rain to stay away so the event can go ahead.
Before the October 29 gymkhana, a barrel race is scheduled for the Cootamundra rodeo grounds.
Top quality barrel riders, including Cootamundra’s own Kerry Holder, will compete at the event.
It will be a good test of the ground before the gymkhana and will give Ross an indication of whether the event is likely to go ahead or will need to be postponed again.
All those involved are hoping that the October date goes ahead so they can finally get back on the horse.
