COVID-19 forces 2020 Rodeo cancellation

By Jeremy Sollars

The Warwick Show and Rodeo Society says it has made the “hard decision” to cancel the 2020 Warwick Rodeo and Gold Cup Campdraft due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19.

In a statement released earlier today – Friday 31 July – a spokeswoman said “after extensive consultations with State and Local governments, stakeholders and public health authorities the Warwick Show and Rodeo Society have made the hard decision to cancel the 2020 Warwick Rodeo and Gold Cup Campdraft”.

“With the ever changing climate surrounding Covid-19 the safety of our volunteers, competitors, patrons and the larger community were at the forefront of our decision making process,” the spokeswoman said.

“The complex nature of our event being seven days and the vast space of our venue made the logistical implementation of the Covid Plan unattainable.

“We understand that not only will the cancellation have a massive economic effect on our local community but that our event for many rural and regional competitors has been a reprieve from a tough few years battling through drought, fire and now Covid.

“In the coming months we will be working closely with our governing bodies to help keep our sports alive to keep our trusty team of volunteers engaged and to lift the community spirit.

“Please know this decision wasn’t made lightly, even when the equine flu hit in 2007 we still bucked our bulls, the last time on our records we had to cancel was in 1965 due to extreme drought and before that was World War II.

“We aim to be back in 2021 October 25th-31st bigger and better than ever.”