Foremost School’s Rodeo Club looking to rope into course status, academy
Foremost School's Rodeo Club may be but a stepping stone on their way to a fully fledged 10-week elective and Foremost Rodeo Academy, said principal Corey Steeves.
“Rodeo is a huge part of the community here in Foremost, there's been a number of students that are heavily involved in High School Rodeo or Junior High rodeo. And so last year, thanks to Prairie Rose Possibilities funding from the school division, we were able to start our rodeo club last spring,” said Steeves.
The club has continued into the fall, and now Foremost School is looking into next steps.
They partnered with the Foremost Ag Society, to help with things like access to the rodeo grounds, said Steeves, who added that their ultimate goal is to make this programming and the clinics they arrange part of the school day, and eventually into an academy, not unlike the Hockey Academy already present.
An information night was held on March 29th, to discuss their plans and to get parents into the loop as to what they could expect for their children as things progress, as well as get input from the community.
“There were some good discussions there. We called it an information night, though really it was to say what our plan is, but also to talk with parents and ask what they would want. And that's where we came up with some ideas for clinics and content,” said Steeves. “Like goat tying, roping, and beginner horsemanship. We wanted to know what are some of the topics that both parents and kids are going to want. It went from being maybe more of an information night to a discussion with some parents.”
The school is hoping to offer some very high end clinics for their students, and plans to subsidize three or four of them, with part of their registration fee for each being covered by their membership in the rodeo club, said Steeves.
These students would get first pick of the clinics, several of which are already planned, with students from other schools being able to fill any empty spots.
“If people have any interest, whether they currently attend Foremost School, or they attend somewhere else, if they have information, questions or ideas, we're open to listening and answering questions,” said Steeves. “This is something that we want to grow, and we want to make sure we do it right. So we're doing it in very bite sized chunks, for lack of a better term. But our end goal, I believe, is to create something great that eventually will be the Foremost Rodeo Academy.”