CANADIAN RODEO NEWS STORY by DIANNE FINSTAD
Preserving a proud western heritage, paying cowboys well, accommodating growth, and staying relevant to modern rodeo fans, all in a small community is a tall order. But then, the Ponoka Stampede has had plenty of practice achieving all those goals.
This year, it marks 90 years of balancing tradition and progress.
“Just to see the changes I have seen in my lifetime are amazing,” marvels Ponoka Stampede Association President Bruce Harbin. “It’s quite a testament to what’s been done over the years, and it’s a real testament to the strength of our community.”
Managing growth and running Canada’s biggest regular season pro rodeo takes an army of volunteers. Coordinating all the many moving parts is a sixteen-man Ponoka Stampede board of directors, representing generations of family involvement in the event.
One driving force with nearly eighty years of personal dedication to the Stampede will be missed this year at Ponoka. Lifetime Member and Senator Frank Mickey passed away last November at the age of 98, active in Stampede business until his final days. Mickey, who always got to celebrate his July first birthday at the Stampede, began volunteering back in 1947, joining the Association in 1959, and serving in many roles, from President several times, to Grounds Chairman and Grounds Manager.
Mickey was behind many of the changes and improvements to the Stampede grounds over the year. It’s hard to grasp the transformation he experienced, from a wooden grandstand to the most well-equipped rodeo and entertainment facility in the country.
But Mickey also passed along his passion, helping shape young people into future Stampede leaders, with his work ethic and attention to detail.
“You could write a book about what Frank did for the Stampede and what he meant to a lot of us,” comments PSA Director Jim Harbidge, who has his own share of Frank stories.
President Harbin often refers to what he calls ‘The Frank Mickey rule’ – do what you’re told and do that every year.
“There’s a thousand volunteers around here and twenty directors and they’ve probably all been schooled, directly or indirectly, through Frank,” says Harbin.
There will be a Frank Mickey tribute during the 2026 Ponoka Stampede.
To celebrate nine decades, organizers decided to make it their Year of the Cowgirl in a number of ways. Again, there’s the blend of tradition and modern. This year’s Honorary Presidents can remember those first Stampede days, because they were there. Del Vold, who’s 95, and Elva Lewis, a spry 101, have also ‘lived’ the progress of the Ponoka Stampede. They supported family members who left their own indelible mark on the Stampede’s history.
Del is the matriarch of the well-known Vold family, with her husband Ralph and son Blair both past Presidents. Her father, Hector Labrie, also served as President back in 1955. Grandson Nansen Vold is on the board currently. Elva’s husband Ivan Lewis was a President, and son Donnie served as a director. Her father, Jewel Stretch, was a member of the Ponoka Stampede Association as well. She can recall family picnics at the early Ponoka sports days, which also included horse events, although she enjoyed the foot races more! Vold and Lewis became friends as their husbands served together on the board.
“We saw a lot of rodeo,” smiles Vold, who’s fondest memories include watching the many parades.
Also to celebrate cowgirls, local barrel racing legend and horse trainer Dee Butterfield is the featured on the Ponoka Stampede poster. Other cowgirls will be honored through the week as well.
Current rodeo fans will be excited to see this year’s parade marshal Katy Lucas, a former Miss Ponoka Stampede, who went on to become Miss Rodeo Canada, and is now a high-profile rodeo broadcaster at Cowboy Plus in Texas. She’s also the daughter of Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Famer Smokin’ Joe Lucas, a four-time Canadian Tie-Down Champion, and sister to current Canadian Tie-Down Roping Champion Kyle Lucas
Even though Lucas been to almost every major rodeo in North America, the Ponoka Stampede remains a personal favorite. It’s a place where she also worked as part of the announcing crew and did some of her early rodeo reporting.
“I think it’s so authentically cowboy at Ponoka – from the running of the horses around the track to just the sheer size of the arena and the long score. Working with the board members too, it is sincerely a ‘Cowboys rodeo’. And I think that’s just what makes it stand out.”
A big part of being on the cowboy’s ‘can’t miss’ list has been regularly boosting the prize money, including significant increases in 2025 to $75,000 for riding events, and $60,000 for timed events. Plus, there was last year’s addition of breakaway roping to the lineup, and a just announced increase for the 2026 purse for the event to $45,000, thanks to CVS Controls.
“We just hope we can make the sport better for the cowboys,” Harbin asserts, remembering Ponoka Stampede longtime director and legendary cowboy, Tom Butterfield’s ‘Rule #1’ to always be fair to the cowboys.
“We try to be as fair to them, and as good to them as we can be.”
The successful formula Ponoka Stampede has developed over ninety years appears to be paying off in spades, as the lead-up to 2026 is already proving, with record pre-event ticket sales and sponsorship. The trade show is sold out, and the western hospitality of free camping the fans love has been expanded. There’s fifteen acres now at Wild Horse Flats, focused on younger rodeo fans; while another ninety-eight acres has been added just south of the Calnash Trucking Ag Event Centre, to handle additional camping and parking.
In the Ponoka Stampede’s relentless pursuit of excellence, the day after the 2026 event is done, work begins on another new chapter of expansion. The Presidents’ boxes and bleachers will be replaced with a doubling of the popular Wild West Suites and Rooftop Club for 2027, to give even more visitors an unforgettable Ponoka Stampede experience.
That’s exactly what second-generation President Bruce Harbin and his counterparts want to deliver at the Ponoka Stampede.
“My Dad (Bruce) used to say ‘we’ve got a tiger by the tail because you’ve got that great cowboy on that great horse, and all the people come to watch that. The sponsors see all those people there, and they want to be out in front of them’, and it just kind of snowballs. All that stuff works together to make it what it is.”
