Membership in the destination marketing group, Visit Moose Jaw, has benefitted the Moose Jaw Exhibition Company.
“It played a large part in attracting the 2018 mining safety competitions,” exhibition CEO George Fowler told the annual meeting. “There were over 700 miners for three days and it had huge economic spinoff for the city.”
Moose Jaw is now on the three-year rotation for the event.
Visit Moose Jaw commitments helped attract this August’s provincial barrel racing championships, he said. The event will have more than 400 horses for five days.
“It is by far the biggest horse event in Saskatchewan.”
The Visit Moose Jaw group supported the 55 Plus games, several soccer events, a senior baseball tournament, mixed doubles curling, and put $55,000 towards next year’s Scotties’ curling bonspiel.
Visit Moose Jaw is a voluntary organization of tourist-related operations, mostly hotels.
Fowler praised the annual spring youth bronc riding school in Moose Jaw.
“When these kids come here to get schooled they are getting top notch safety. They leave sore but knowing a lot more about riding horses than they knew before.”
Lee Bellows, school organizer, said two of their students won Canadian Professional rodeo titles in novice and novice bareback.
Fowler invited visitors to the May 4 and 5 school.
The non-profit exhibition company lost four horse show rentals last year from low registration but Fowler said they are back on board for this year.
Barrel racing jackpots are a new event here since December.
“They had 105 runs on Saturday and had the fastest times since they started coming.”
The year-end exhibition company surplus of $16,295 was down from $68,390 the previous year with most of the revenue loss from direct events — the fair and horse shows – and sponsorships.
Re-elected as directors were Ray Whitney, Lee Bellows, Mel Burns and Michelle Blakely. Brian Swanson received an honorary life membership for his years of service as a city council representative and his volunteer efforts with events on the Exhibition Grounds.
Ron Walter can be reached at [email protected]
