Red Deer is back in the saddle for 2026 as part of the Pro Rodeo Canada circuit.
According to committee member Dianne Finstad, Red Deer’s proud rodeo history dates all the way back to 1922. She says “now that hasn’t been every year since then, but after the CFR (Canadian Finals Rodeo) left we kind of felt a real vacuum and kudos to Dave and the Westerner Park board. They felt like Red Deer really did need a rodeo and that rodeo belongs there and so that’s when the initiative was started to see if we couldn’t get a Red Deer rodeo back on the pro circuit.”
Committee member Dave Harvey is very optimistic that people are going to come in and support the rodeo as it lands in Red Deer. He says “it is a sport that is growing and it is growing in great depth, so even people that really weren’t too sure about rodeo they are seeing a lot more of it on TV i.e. Cowboy Channel, stuff like that. So I am confident they are going to come and we are going to produce and amazing show and great, great entertainment each night after the rodeo. We’ve got great country artists coming in Thursday, Friday, Saturday night for your enjoyment after the rodeo is over.”
Finstad points out that when Red Deer did have a regular rodeo, it was unique for the buckle. She says “it has got the red inlay on it. It was a sort of a buckle that was well known. Everyone wanted to get one of those red buckles. So then we we decided to come back with the Red Deer Pro Rodeo we said well that’s a legacy that we should try and recreate. So we got Troy Fischer he designed a new one but it is giving a nod to the traditional one with some red in it too. So we really hope that along with the prize money the contestants will be excited about coming up for the buckle. The buckles are something that lasts and the cowboys will go a long way for a buckle that they want to get and we hope this becomes one of those.” Finstad adds, that the prize money for the contestants in Red Deer will be a $9,000 purse per event. See more of Fischer’s work here.
Red Deer Pro Rodeo tickets are available here now. It is coming up from May 21st through the 23rd at the Marchant Crane Centrium at Westerner Park.
Listen to 96.5 The Ranch’s Community Hotline conversation with Dianne Finstad and Dave Harvey.
