The 43rd Annual Sundre Pro Rodeo will be part of the SMS Equipment Pro Tour, the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association has announced.
“The Sundre Rodeo and Race Association is beyond excited to be joining the SMS Equipment Pro Tour in 2023,” said Shane Crouch, chairman of the long-standing Alberta event.
“Sundre gets a great entry of contestants every year; and by increasing our prize money to Tour level, we are able to help our athletes. This is one of the reasons we felt we should make the step to the next level with Pro Rodeo here in Canada.”
The Sundre Pro Rodeo has long been a staple on the CPRA schedule. Dating back to the 1920s, the Sundre Stampede, as it was known then, was held in a variety of locations until organizers settled on the current location just north of the community at the bottom of Snake Hill.
In the Stampede’s early years, local ranchers and farmers helped provide rodeo stock and the Morley First Nations band assisted in the construction of the grounds and competed at the event.
After going on hiatus during the war, the rodeo returned as an amateur event and carried on successfully for many years. The Sundre Rodeo and Race Association was eventually formed and in 1979, the first Sundre Pro Rodeo was held.
Named the Gary Logan Memorial Rodeo in 1980, as a tribute to local bareback rider, Gary Logan, who was one of four CPRA cowboys who lost their lives in a 1979 plane crash, the event reverted to the name Sundre Pro Rodeo in 1994.
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