For many local residents, when you think of TeleMiracle, you can’t help but think of Ray Kneeland. Kneeland, who passed away in December of 2022, raised over $600,000 for the provincial fundraiser throughout the years in a wide variety of ways, including rodeos, so what better way to honour such an incredible human than to host a memorial rodeo?
On September 2nd and 3rd, the Ray Kneeland Memorial KCRA Rodeo will be held at the Delisle Rodeo Arena, with all proceeds from the event going to TeleMiracle in his name.
This event will feature a wide array of family friendly activities including fast action rodeo, local vendors, food trucks, family entertainment, face painting, calf scramble, rooster scramble, beer gardens and two nights of cabaret.
“We wanted to do something to honour Ray and make sure that his 20 years of raising money for TeleMiracle lived on. We want TeleMiracle to know that they can still rely on the equine and agricultural community to be a part of things because we know how important this cause was to Ray,” Erin Franko, one of the event organizers, stated.
The idea for this event came together this past January after a group began to brainstorm ways to continue to raise money for TeleMiracle. “We all felt like it was a good fit and a great opportunity,” Franko added.
Franko explained that the rodeo days would kick-off at 8am with slack events including barrel racing, team roping, breakaway, junior steers and more. Rodeo performance with all of the events will begin at 3pm, and the cabaret will begin at 9pm each day.
Entry for the rodeo is free for ages 0-4, $10 for ages 5-13, $20 for Adults (13+), with two-day passes available as well for $30 – Adults, and $90 – Family. The event will be cash-only so be sure to come prepared. It is also recommended that you consider bringing your own chair as well.
“Ray was so dedicated and passionate about raising money for TeleMiracle, so we will continue to do fundraisers each year. We will see how the rodeo goes and decide from there if this is something we want to continue to do,” Franko said.
So far, there has been a lot of positive feedback and support for the event and Franko noted that people have been really happy to come on board and support such a great cause to help keep Ray’s name alive.
“He has touched so many lives throughout the equine and rodeo community. I think we all grew up riding out at the OK Corral and he provided a home for rodeo families and kids. We really hope that we have a good turn-out and we know that Ray would be so happy to see everyone coming together for TeleMiracle.”
For more information about this event, visit the ‘Ray Kneeland Memorial Rodeo’ Facebook page.