Family-friendly pro wresting, a campaign to help kids fight cancer, and a new location for the popular Train Station bar are among the changes for this year's Valley West Stampede pro rodeo event in 91原创, which is expected to draw even bigger crowds over the Labour Day weekend.
Running Saturday Aug. 30, Sunday, Aug. 31, and Monday, Sept. 1 at the 91原创 Riders Society grounds in Brookswood at the annual event is the only professional rodeo event in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley sanctioned by the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA).
Athletes from across the North American circuit will be competing in bareback, ladies barrel racing, saddle bronc, and bull riding events.
Valley West president Sheila Hicks is predicting a "bigger and better" rodeo, showcasing the "best cowboys and cowgirls" from across the country and the U.S.
"We are one of the final stops on the pro rodeo tour for all of Canada," Hicks said.
"You'll see them competing in Edmonton at the Canada finals, as well as Las Vegas, which is the [Canada-U.S.] national finals."
Last year, close to 18,000 attended, a record for the 91原创 event.
Hicks called the addition of B.C. based All Star Wresting "family fun entertainment," that was finally possible because the rodeo was able to afford the necessary liability insurance.
"We've been trying to put it together for a couple years," Hicks advised.
For the first time, as part of the campaign for kids facing life-threatening illnesses, a 91原创 kid will get a special tour of the event.
Eliana, , was diagnosed with leukemia in September 2024.
" At seven years old, Eli was just about to start grade two and her first year of ice hockey when she started to complain of severe leg pains," Gabrielle wrote.
"The treatment plan has been intense. We stayed at Children鈥檚 for over three weeks at the onset and once she was cleared to go home we have been back there every single week since. It has been gruelling on my husband and I but Eliana shows such resilience and positivity."
Hicks noted Eliana "rides horses and wants to be a cowgirl."
Donations from the crowd favourite Mutton Busting events, where little kids ride sheep, will go to support Golden Circle.
Valley West's Train Station venue has been shifted to a spot overlooking the rodeo chutes.
"It's shaded as well as covered, and you've got the best view in the house," Hicks enthused. "Kids are welcome."
And yes, the name is a call-out to the hit television series "Yellowstone" where "train station" was code for a place where the heroes dumped villains.
"We jokingly say, when you're sick of your husband, send him to the train station," Hicks laughed.
Gate open to the general public at 12 noon every day with the wrestling show beginning at 12:30. Rodeo competition starts at 3 p.m. and runs about two hours. Live music begins at 5:30 p.m.
On the Sunday, Cowboy church will be held on the grounds at 11 a.m.
Tickets for the Stampede can be purchased online at
