It’s time to dust off your cowboy boots and turn up your favourite country music as the Strathmore Stampede and Heritage Days celebration is just around the corner.

On April 1st tickets went on sale for the 2019 Strathmore Stampede.

The stampede takes place August 2nd to 5th at the Strathmore agricultural grounds.

“People are already excited about the Strathmore Stampede even though it’s not until August long- weekend,” said Ryan Schmidt CEO/General Manager at the Strathmore and District Agricultural Society.

“We have people coming in to renew their seats from last year, and there’s a lot of enthusiasm about everything that we’ve got going on this year,” he said.

This year is the 53rd annual Strathmore Stampede. Spectators can expect to see all of the traditional rodeo events like barrel racing, bareback, saddle bronc, steer wrestling, tie-down roping, team roping, chuckwagon racing, and the bulls.

This year also features the very popular Running With The Bulls competition, where regular guys and gals jump into the ring and try to run with the big bad bulls before a full crowd of cheering fans in the grand stand.

Also for the first time since 1983, the RCMP Musical Ride will be performing at the stampede. The midway will be back this year, and with that a kids version of running with the bulls called Running With The Rams.

“Think of the Running With The Rams as a safer, but just as much fun, version of the Running With The Bulls for kids,” Schmidt explained. In the competition kids are given a different colour of paint for them to use to tag sheep. The kids who can tag the most sheep within allotted amount of time is the champion.

The Running With The Rams will he held in the smaller outdoor arena. Don’t forget there’s lots of rodeo action for those young cowboys and cowgirls with mutton bustin’ and the wild pony races too.

“This year at the Strathmore Stampede we have the whole package coming together as far as entertainment for everyone,” said Schmidt.

“We’ve got the Chucks and Rodeo, the Running With The Bulls going on, but we also have the very special arrival of the RCMP Musical Ride and then on the other side of things we have the midway coming back. We have a great package of entertainment for all ages,” said Schmidt.

With a cabaret night, and lots of fun on the grounds, with everything wrapping up on Championship Monday, this year’s Stampede is going to be better than ever.