Conondale was alive with visitors to the 29th Conondale Rodeo at the I and T Smith Arena on Easter Sunday. Participating cowboys and cowgirls were bucked around beneath beautiful cobalt-blue skies during this annual Hinterland spectacular.

Conondale was alive with visitors to the 29th Conondale Rodeo at the I and T Smith Arena on Easter Sunday. Participating cowboys and cowgirls were bucked around beneath beautiful cobalt-blue skies during this annual Hinterland spectacular.

About two thousand people were in attendance and the atmosphere was reported to be "incredible" by Conondale's Picnic Race Club president Ian Fleiter, who organizes the event.

"It was a great success and a bonza event," said Ian. "We had a fabulous crowd and we couldn't have asked for better conditions because the storm the night before wet down the arena nicely."

The Open Bullock Ride, which carried a trophy and purse of $140, failed to be claimed by any of the contestants for the first time in the Conondale Rodeo's 29 years.

"Not one of them scored this year," said Ian. "This has never happened before but means that the trophy and the purse definitely stays here at the club for another year."

The animals used in the competition were loaned to the club by Des Bochow. They proved a handful and stopped the riders staying on for the required eight seconds. "We had the most beautiful line of buck and bullocks loaned to us by Des," Ian said. "But they were a feisty lot as there was not one rider who rode time!"

The Rodeo was a great undertaking for the Picnic Race Club. But sadly it is the club's sole surviving event on the Conondale calendar because the cost of insurance has gone through the roof.  The club's members have only been able to keep the rodeo going because the event is affiliated to Queensland's Rodeo Association, which helps cover the event with its own policy. Even so, the club president said that insurance cover still comes at a great cost to the organization and cost them $5300.

Picture:   Uh-oh! ... a contestant bites the dust. 
Some of the action from this year's event.   -  Carol Ferriday.