Long-time Fort Macleod Agricultural Society member Monty Wesley had a great love for ranch rodeo and in fact was responsible for keeping it alive in Fort Macleod.

   Wesley won’t be at the Midnight Stadium Agriplex this year watching over the annual event he organized so well for years.

   But the Agricultural Society will hold a moment of silence for Wesley as they rename their annual rodeo in his honour.

   Wesley died in January 2009.

   The Monty Wesley Memorial Ranch Rodeo gets under way at 4 p.m. Saturday, June 27 at the Midnight Stadium Agriplex.

   “This was his project pretty well,” Agricultural Society co-president Dave Weir said.

   “He was a good guy. He was first vice-president of the ag society, and on the board pretty well since the building was built.”

   “Monty was a real friendly guy, a cowboy type to the end,” Agricultural Society co-president in charge of administration Maryanne Sandberg said. “Monty was basically our P.R. guy for the ag society.”

   Former Agricultural Society secretary treasurer Don Hunter said the ranch rodeo was Wesley’s creation from the start.

   “It’s Monty who was responsible for keeping rodeo alive in Fort Macleod,” Hunter said.

   Now in its eighth year, the ranch rodeo is a kind of “down home” rodeo, with competitions such as horse catching, team sorting, team doctoring, calf branding, and cow milking.

   “The ranch rodeo is doing things you’d be doing on a ranch, the everyday things you’d be doing,” Weir explained.

   “It’s local guys, four on a team, local ranchers. We’ve had them from 15 years old up to 80. Last year, the last two years, we had an al-girl team, too.”

   This year’s winning team will take away $1,000 in prize money.