When Henrietta Purvis drove through Waikouaiti on the day before the local rodeo last year, she was blown away.
Not only was the township literally painted pink, but also, when she called into the bakery, even the bread was pink.
It was validation that not only the Waikouaiti Rodeo Club, but also the wider community, had embraced the concept of Tough Enough To Wear Pink.
The slogan has become synonymous with the event since it was introduced five years ago, raising $37,000 for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation.
This year's event, which marks the club's 50th anniversary, will be held tomorrow, with the proceeds being received by St Hilda's Collegiate principal Melissa Bell on behalf of the foundation. Ms Bell was diagnosed with breast cancer in March last year.
It was Mrs Purvis who first floated the idea at a time when the club was looking for a point of difference, ''so it wasn't just an ordinary rodeo''.
Tough Enough To Wear Pink has its origins in the United States and Canada where it has generated more than $12 million for breast cancer charities since 2004.
But, as she said, having an idea was the ''easy bit''.
''Because it was my idea, I felt I have to make this work to prove that it can work,'' she said.
The first Tough Enough to Wear Pink event had managed to raise $5000 but since then the charity fundraising event had just ''snowballed''.
In latter years, having a cancer-related organisation as a cause has become poignant for Mrs Purvis (50), who was diagnosed with leukaemia in October 2012.
She has not let that slow her down, though, and has continued competing in rodeos throughout the country.
Surrounding herself with ''good people'' and making diet and lifestyle changes had made her more able to fight the disease, she said.
''It also does make you realise what is important in your life. You don't take things for granted so much,' she said.
The foundation was very supportive and grateful for the funds and it had been a good relationship, Mrs Purvis said.
While initially there was the odd cowboy questioning whether he had to wear pink, ''now most of them do ... and look bloody good in it'', she said.
For Mrs Purvis' husband, Graeme, a pick-up rider and team roping competitor, watching people come out of the crowd last year and hand $100 notes through the arena fence was humbling, along with seeing so many pink-clad competitors and spectators.
''It does go to show what can be done with a little bit of effort, imagination and also thinking outside the square,'' Mrs Purvis said.
The rodeo's revival has been a team effort involving the club and the community, with various other initiatives to encourage families to attend - including free children's entertainment - also contributing to its recent success.
Crowd attendance has doubled over the past five years.
Mrs Purvis and her quarter horse gelding, Midge, have been consistent performers on the rodeo circuit this season and she is second in the national standings in open barrel racing.
She has been barrel-racing for 10 years, becoming involved with rodeo after meeting her husband who has been involved since he was a boy.
She had previously spent a decade working in the English racing industry. She has also hunted and evented. Rodeo had taught her a lot about horsemanship: ''Nobody has it easy and there's no greater leveller than having anything to do with horses.''
Having the experience as a competitor was also valuable when it came to helping organise a rodeo, as it was good to ''see both sides of the coin'', she said.
Now the club's publicity officer, she had learnt a lot about advertising, marketing and gaining funding, although it was also a ''product'' she enjoyed selling.
Unashamedly passionate about the event, she had always wanted to make it ''something that goes on people's bucket lists''.
''Look at what the Wild Foods Festival has done on the West Coast. People from all over the country go there,'' she said.
