Rodeo committee rides high
Seven members of the Lang Lang Show committee travelled to Warwick in Queensland recently to be inducted into the Australian Professional Rodeo Association Hall of Fame.
The honour was recognition of the fact that the Lang Lang Rodeo is one of the longest continuously running rodeos in Australia.
It all started in 1939 when the first buckjump was included in the annual Lang Lang Show which then expanded to become a full-blown rodeo, an Easter Monday tradition in Lang Lang.
The APRA also gave special awards to Lang Lang’s Alan Light and the late Hughie Bourke for their long-standing dedication to the local rodeo.
The two men have been stalwarts of the committee, with Mr Light on the committee for 50 years and Mr Bourke for 52 years.
At 82, Mr Light is still a member of the committee, coming up to his 51st show, but sadly Mr Bourke died in August after 52 years on the show committee.
“We are the only two that have seen every show!” Mr Light said.
In the early day, he rode in the novelty events, but these days he watches from the sidelines.
He said it had been a wonderful journey with a great sense of camaraderie among members of the organising committee.
The annual induction dinner is held in conjunction with the national rodeo finals.
Lang Lang Show committee secretary Cheryl Berry said that in the heyday of rodeo, in the 1970s, special trains were laid on from Melbourne for Lang Lang’s rodeo, with up to 20,000 people attending.
Rodeo doesn’t have quite the same pull these days, but the Lang Lang show continues to attract around 3000 visitors.
The committee welcomes new members.