Donald
Teuma-CastellettI
LADYSMITH July 22, 2017
A rodeo descended upon Ladysmith last Saturday, where competitors took to their horses for a number of events, all the while raising money for diabetes research.
Organized by Carol Maloney, this was the third year for the rodeo, and the biggest one yet.
“This year we had a lot more riders,” said Maloney. “We upped it to 22.”
These numbers were brought up by the inclusion of more younger riders, some only nine or ten years-old.
Those riders participated in a variety of feats, from barrel racing to pole bending. The highlight for many, though, was a game called musical sacks.
“It’s like musical chairs, but on horses,” said Maloney, explaining that riders would have to hop off their horses and get onto a sack when the music stopped playing.
Maloney first started her rodeo three years ago, when her daughter, Natasha Harris, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Growing bigger every year, her rodeo attracts riders in the friendly spirit of competition, as well as knowing they’re riding for a great cause.
“We’re all very competitive,” laughed Maloney.
The rodeo even attracts other riders living with diabetes, bringing the cause even closer to home for them.
Maloney said that all of the money raised goes straight to Diabetes Canada, with only a bit of cost coming out of her pocket to purchase the winners’ ribbons.
“How I started [fundraising] this year was pretty cool,” said Maloney.
She kicked off with two bottle drives and sold tickets to raffle off a Coca-Cola cooler, as well as a 60 oz. bottle of vodka.
Maloney said they did have to pay to rent the TCRA property, but that even that money is donated to Diabetes Canada by the TCRA in the end.
With the beautiful weather, Maloney couldn’t have asked for a better day for her event. The only hitch, it turned out, was when her truck broke down the night before. Luckily, St-Pierre Towing came through for her, dropping off Maloney’s tractor and the barrels necessary for the competition.
Maloney was also lucky to have the volunteers that she did, she said, as it’s too much work for one woman alone. Saying she’d always need a minimum of eight to pull it off, this year she had 11 volunteers to keep everything running smoothly.
