Fan urges society to rethink shift plan
RODEO fan Geoff Small has urged the Warwick Show and Rodeo Society to give away any thoughts of moving the showgrounds.
Small and his wife Valda hail from Brisbane and are regulars at the annual rodeo.
After hearing about the possible move, he called in at the Daily News this week to express his opposition to the move.
"We have friends here and we always come to the rodeo and watch everything," Small said.
"Valda likes the bull riding and I like all the rough stock events and also watch the timed events."
The couple has been coming to the rodeo for 20 years after building a love for the sport growing up at Casino in New South Wales.
"The showgrounds have atmosphere, it is terraced for spectators and close to town," Small said.
The Brisbane couple has been to rodeos as far north as Mareeba and doesn't know of many venues as close to town as the Warwick Showgrounds.
Their daughter, Cherie, has been to the famous Calgary Stampede in Canada.
Warwick Show and Rodeo Society chairman Dr John Kiss said there were four reasons the society was looking at a possible move.
"The ground can't hold the number of competitors and spectators coming to the annual rodeo," Dr Kiss said.
"There is a safety risk with spectators mingling with horses."
He said the current facility was on a flood plain and often horses and campers were standing in water as it usually rained during rodeo week.
"There is no room at the showgrounds to grow the event and the society faces high maintenance costs because the current facility is ageing.
"The current site is 15 hectares and there is a possibility of expanding to 100 hectares at Morgan Park."