After months of planning and a few hiccups along the way, the Forbes Rodeo finally went ahead on Saturday, proving to be well worth the wait for the thousands of people who donned their cowboy hats and boots to attend.
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Despite drizzly rain throughout the day, thousands of people turned out to support the much-anticipated event, and while exact numbers weren’t taken at the gate, it has been said that the amount of traffic lining the showground and surrounding streets rivals the numbers during show weekend.
Organisers were thrilled with the response and overwhelmed by the number of locals who turned up to support the rodeo, despite it being a postponed event, saying that was by far the highlight of the day.
“It was one of the bigger crowds you’ll see at a rodeo, and for a bush town like Forbes, that’s just awesome,” co-organiser Shaun Read said.
“I’m proud as hell…I’m that proud of all the people from Forbes turning up and supporting us.
“It’s just overwhelming.
“I’m proud to be from such a good community.
“That sort of response from a postponed event is awesome.”
Mr Read said the afternoon rain didn’t do anything to prevent people from coming along.
“We did have a bit of rain but not a lot and the crowd didn’t thin out, it just got bigger and bigger,” he said.
Mr Read said he only had positive comments from everyone who attended the day.
“All the cowboys congratulated us saying it was the best rodeo they’d been to in years,” he said.
“It’s very rewarding at the end of it when you get cowboys and locals saying how much of a quality event it was.”
The cowboys were also full of praise for the great crowd and Mr Read said most crowds aren’t as vocal or as excited as Forbes was.
“They said this crowd is awesome, with all the yelling and screaming,” Mr Read said.
“It pumps you up – there’s nothing better than riding in front of a crowd that’s on the edge of their seats.”
Another highlight was the bucking stock which was provided by Gill Brothers Rodeo.
“It’s the best bucking stock you’ll see in the country,” Mr Read said.
Mr Read said it couldn’t have gone ahead without such a great committee, as well as the volunteers on the gate.
“It was amazing to have such a good committee,” he said.
“They did a tremendous job and our volunteers who turned up to volunteer at the gates, those guys were outstanding.”
Mr Read also wants to pay special mention to the Lion’s Club who worked on the canteen all day and also all of the sponsors, particularly the Central West Livestock Exchange for their major sponsorship.
“I knew it was going to be a high-quality event, but if we can start with that quality on the first event then it can only get better,” Mr Read said.
He said there will definitely be another rodeo next year and it will hopefully now become an annual event, which was the goal from the very start.
