“This year’s event was one for the record books,” said Kathy Sheppard.
Sheppard, president of the Cloverdale Rodeo Association, was talking about the 77th annual Cloverdale Rodeo and the 134th annual County Fair. The rodeo and fair returned for four days of competition, music, entertainment, and fun May 16-19.
She said more than 60,000 visited the Cloverdale Fairgrounds over “Rodeo Weekend.” She added the final tally could be higher, but that final numbers wouldn’t be in for a couple of weeks.
Sheppard said the rodeo performances were very popular and that four of our five rodeo competitions were sold out again, with crowds over 3,000 for each show. More than 15,000 attend the rodeo shows this year which eclipsed last year's total of 14,443.
“Even when the weather wasn’t perfect, we still welcomed sold-out crowds for the weekend performances in the Stetson Bowl,” Sheppard told the Cloverdale Reporter.
She added the Saturday afternoon rodeo competition drew a record crowd thanks to the additional seating available in the new Wild Mustang VIP lounge. The new area, right next to the alley, and set up against the arena fence, added about 220 people to each rodeo performance over the weekend.
She noted when the sun came out on Sunday, attendance for general admission to the Fairgrounds soared to more than 28,000 for the day.
“Strong attendance helped us reach other, important and impactful records set this weekend, too,” Sheppard said. “I think the ones we’re proudest of are those that impact our community.”
She said the 50/50 jackpot was one of "those" that rocketed to more than $61,500 this year, $17K more than last year.
“One that stands out for me is the 50/50 jackpot,” she said. “The proceeds from this important fundraiser support the (Cloverdale Rodeo Youth Initiative Foundation) and beyond. The dedicated team of 50/50 volunteers were fantastic, going above and beyond to help us support scholarships and initiatives in the community.”
She noted even with some rain on the weekend, Canada’s second biggest rodeo went off without a hitch.
“I just want to thank everyone for coming out and supporting the rodeo and fair,” she said.
Sheppard noted the unsung heroes for the weekend were the Cloverdale Rodeo Association volunteers, which number about 300, and all the staff and workers that helped put on the event.
Sheppard also said Cowboy Church was held again on Sunday morning. This year it was held in the Lasso Lounge.
“Cowboy Church was such a great experience, so joyful,” she said. “It was a nice, Western-style, family-oriented, non-denominational service. It was just wonderful. Lots of music. Lots of happy people.”
Sheppard added this year’s Cloverdale Rodeo Youth Initiative Foundation pancake breakfast was extremely well-attended. The Youth Initiative Foundation holds the breakfast on Rodeo Sunday as a fundraiser for the Foundation’s scholarship fund. For a donation, attendees got flapjacks and free entrance to the Cloverdale Fairgrounds that day.
Sheppard’s already looking forward to the 2026 Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair. They’ll get going on 2026 in about a week or two.
“We just want to thank the City of Surrey for their support and thank the community for their support and for coming out and enjoying the event,” added Sheppard. “We hope that next year we can make it that much bigger and that much better.”
