Biggest rodeo in WA to bring over 3,000 to Boddington for weekend of action

WA’s biggest rodeo is returning to Boddington this Saturday.

Running for 45 consecutive years, not even the COVID-19 pandemic has been able to stop the thrills of the Boddington Lions Rodeo.

With profits set to be reinvested in the community, more than 3000 people have already bought tickets online, with attendees and rodeo stars coming from across WA. Boddington Lions secretary John Allert said last year’s was an incredible event when the rodeo bucked the trend.

“We were the only rodeo in WA that did run last year and we had over 7000 people,” he said.

“It was amazing.

“So this year we’ve extended the ground tremendously. We’ve put in a grandstand that takes 540 people, and that’s sold out.

“We’ve also extended the bar and put another bar in.

“We’ve done a lot of things to make the ground better and to cope with the huge crowd. It’s going to be huge again.”

The fun is set to begin on Friday with a festival at the Boddington Community Resource Centre from 6pm featuring a massive display from the Boddington Arts Council.

The rodeo will begin on Saturday with the open bull ride followed by events including barrel horse, saddle bronc and bareback riding.

Attendees can hit the dance floor at the Bushman’s Ball.

“It’s a whole weekend,” Mr Allert said. “(The riders) come from all over ... from the Kimberley, the Pilbara, they come from down south, they come from everywhere. It’s the most attended and has the biggest prize money out of the rodeos in WA.

“This is not a money-making thing, its run by a charity group, the Lions.

“All the money that we make goes back into the community.”

Mr Allert said anyone wanting to camp out should ring the Shire of Boddington offices before the event. “The most important thing is that people really need to book if they’re going to camp,” he said.

“There’s no problem getting people into the ground but there is a problem of where are you going to sleep. People should phone the Shire because they handle all the bookings for camping.”

Visit boddingtonlionsrodeo. com.au for details.