Williams Lake Stampede

Today the rodeo is held on the same site as the 1st Annual production back in 1919 (the rodeo took a several year hiatus during the World Wars). In the early days, the Cowboys were mostly local boys and girls who wanted a place to show off their cowboy talents, today’s rodeo is a big professional show with cowboys from all over Canada and the U.S. coming to compete. The original concept is maintained by a locals-only competition called the Ranch Challenge where cowboys from area ranches compete against each other for the years bragging rights as “the best cowboys”.