Presley McCorkindale (12), of Rotorua, gets in some roping practice at the Mataura Rodeo on Saturday. Presley’s father Malcolm and uncle Brett were competing in the southern rodeo circuit. Photo by Margaret Philips.
There were 320 entries for the first rodeo in the southern circuit, held at the Mataura Rodeo grounds on Saturday.
The rodeo attracted a lot of competitors from the North Island, Ms Robinson said. In all, there would be five rodeos that would make up the southern circuit in the space of two weeks, she said.
Competitors left the Mataura rodeo to compete in its Invercargill counterpart on Sunday.
‘‘There's just more people coming down [from the North Island],'' Ms Robinson said.
Not only did the southern circuit's tightly scheduled string of rodeos attract competitors, the sport was also growing in popularity, she said.
‘‘Younger people are coming up through the sport and that's really good,'' , Ms Robinson said.
When asked what attracted people to rodeo, Ms Robinson said ‘‘just the love of the sport'', and the fact it was a welcoming sport for new entrants.
‘‘Everybody gets on with each other, everybody is so willing to help each other,'' Mataura Rodeo Club member Linda Dunstan said. ‘‘There's a good atmosphere,'' Mrs Dunstan said.
Only a few years ago, the Mataura club was struggling to attract members but now it had become ‘‘very strong'', Mrs Dunstan said.
The club had 20 committee members and many more ‘‘willing helpers'', she said.
Life member Harvey Dunstan attributed the club's rise in fortunes to the running of horse treks which attracted huge interest from equine enthusiasts.
