Saturday 20th March – Hurley Rodeo Day!!! The long-awaited challenge had arrived! We made sure I got there in plenty of time to confirm my place in the Novice and Junior classes. The organisers had thought of all kinds of things – all contestants first received a can of that lovely stimulant that goes by the name of Red Bull, and then the race vests. Mine showed “18” – I hoped it would be my lucky number...

Then I went off for the briefing. We all stood round Shaun Baker who tried to intellectually stimulate our minds with the rules and regulations of what would gain us points. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to find my coaches and back-up team, Kev and Jezz, who gave me plenty of help and encouragement. Thank you for coming guys!

Eventually, I went onto the water joining in with the coaching and practising with other young paddlers. It was also an opportunity to share the wave with some of the great names of freestyle canoeing and to get their advice on the hottest moves in the rodeo.

Kev and Jezz went off to do some mountain biking while waiting for the novice class to start. They arrived back in time to give me their support, when it was my turn - Jezz, unfortunately, with war wounds after making painful contact with a barbed wire fence.

And then the heats were on! We all had two runs of 45 seconds each to show what we could do. I didn’t realise how long a time this is until I was “out there”, giving it large!! When all the novice paddlers had competed, I came off the water, thinking this was it. Lunch was foremost on my mind now – water makes hungry...

2 p.m. was approaching when I decided to go and see how things went on the water. I thought it was time to go out again, ready for the next class. It was only when I paddled over that I discovered I had come fifth in the novice heats and should have stayed on the water to compete in the finals!

The judges, a bit lenient with us beginners, asked if I would like to just do my three runs to catch up with the others so that I could be included in the final ranking. Of course, I agreed... This turned out to be the hardest part of the day, as I had to do my three times 45 seconds one after the other!!! After being blown off the wave in my first run, I fought my way through the other two and managed to bring my 10th place up to 8th. (This is one mistake I will not be making again! Next time, I will stay firmly out of the water if I get through to the finals!!)

The Junior Class was very competitive. People could enter up to the age of 19 and everyone was hyped up by the prospect of the first prize: A “Zwo” by Eskimo with a complete set of kit. There were some excellent paddlers in this class, but even though I missed competing in the finals by only 2.5 points. I finished in 12th position, with 11th being taken from me by a mere half point!

Altogether, it was a day of excitement, my first great rodeo experience and a chance to make friends with other paddlers. And it left me with that definite feeling that I want to be “out there” again!

by Carl Leahy, May 1999