Crime Stoppers reaches out with Xtreme Cowboy Race
After helping to take hundreds of bad guys off the streets in the decades since it was founded, Crime Stoppers Niagara hopes to improve on its success by reaching out into the communities it serves.
The local organization’s administrative director, Sara Stevens, said she has spent much of her four months since joining Crime Stoppers working to raise awareness about its programs.
Although Crime Stoppers is well known for its 1-800-222-8477 tip line, through which people can anonymously leave information to help police solve crimes, Stevens said the organization also hopes to expand its focus on crime prevention.
“That’s kind of a new direction that we’re going in,” she said.
On Saturday Crime Stoppers hosted a new event to help achieve that goal — introducing young people from throughout Niagara to the sport of cowboy horse racing.
The organization teamed up with Serenity Range, a Pelhambased horse riding centre, and HollisWealth to hold its inaugural Ontario Xtreme Cowboy Race, held at the West Niagara Agricultural Centre and Fairgrounds in Grimsby. The event raised funds for the non-profit organization while raising awareness about the programs it offers.
Serenity Range trainer Cory Machesney said his organization first came up with the concept of holding a rodeo, and pitched the idea to Crime Stoppers’ board of directors.
“We all kind of ran with it … It has been a lot of fun, doing all the planning,” Machesney said, referring to about five months of work preparing for the event. “It was the first time I’ve ever done an event like this.”
Although Stevens, too, had no prior experience organizing a rodeo, they quickly found someone who does.
In addition to her expertise in financial management, Jackie Morrison from Holliswealth, has spent years working in the rodeo industry, particularly in western Canada.
Crime Stoppers board chairman Ernie Sibbett asked Morrison to join the team of organizers as an adviser.
“And the show took on a life of its own, really,” Morrison said.
While promoting Crime Stoppers, Morrison said the event also promoted the sport she loves.
“It’s a lot of fun, and as far as I’m concerned the more people I can get out into the horse world the better,” she said. “To me, this is a great way to
teach kids responsibility.”
In addition to the rodeo competitions, Stevens said the event included about 40 vendors, food trucks and live music.
While Morrison hopes the event grows into a major fundraiser for Crime Stoppers in years to come, she said that might take a few years to happen.
“Financially, for a first year it’s always best just to try and break even,” she said. “As far as I’m concerned, we’ve done really well for the day, especially considering we have the Winona Peach Festival going on at the same time.”
Nevertheless, she said hundreds of people visited the fairgrounds for the event.
“We’ve done exceptionally well,” Morrison said.