The Upper Mōhaka Rodeo Club has taken its final ride after 45 years of “great crowds, great horses, tough bulls and some absolute chaos”.
Club president Simon Tahau said the decision had been taken out of its hands because the Mōhaka Domain, where the event was held, was returned to the Hineuru Iwi Trust in a settlement in 2016.
“They also own a station down the road, and they want to incorporate into that and use it for their own use now.
“They have decided that doesn’t involve the rodeo anymore, which they are perfectly entitled to do.
“We have got absolutely nothing against them or anything; they are totally within their rights.”
The trust said Te Purotū, commonly known as the Upper Mōhaka Domain, was returned to the iwi as cultural redress after their settlement.
“For the past 10 years, the Upper Mōhaka Rodeo has continued on Te Purotū.
“The trust has recently made the difficult decision to conclude this and bring the whenua more directly into the trust’s operations.
“In the immediate future, Te Purotū will support our farming operations while we continue to consider and pursue longer-term aspirations.”
The trust acknowledged the rodeo’s history and recognised that its conclusion would be disappointing.
Tahau said the club didn’t know that this year’s event, in January, would be its last. It was unlikely that it could find other suitable sites for the event.
“You need room to park [the] public and camp the cowboys there.”
The arena would be pulled down over the weekend.
“We will make a decision whether we can find somewhere else we can resurrect it, but that’s pretty much not looking that easy to get done, or just donate it to another up-and-coming club, which is probably the way we will [go].”
Tahau, only the club’s second president, after Terry Berkett, said the rodeo had become a way of life for so many people, he said.
It had also bred some great cowboys.
“We have quite a few of the cowboys over the years that have broken open and gone on to do really good things around the world actually.”
He attributed this to its relaxed environment, compared to other events.
“A lot of the rodeos you go to, it can be quite a bit of pressure ... at the Upper Mōhaka Rodeo, people felt a bit more special.”
The not-for-profit club did everything on a shoestring budget, he said, because its distance from any town made sponsorship a challenge.
“We are farmers, and we’re not very good at walking around town and into shops asking for money.”
The rodeo attracted crowds of up to 1000 people, who would travel to watch the bucking, roping and riding events.
“It’s been awesome while it’s lasted,” Tahau said, thanks to all riders, spectators, stock contractors and sponsors.
The Upper Mōhaka Rodeo started in 1981, when Charlie Brown, Charles Pearce, Terry Berkett, Dick Cave, Shorty Hammond, Rex James, Don James and Ash O’Connor got together with an idea, a farewell post on the rodeo’s Facebook page said.
“The Te Haroto/Te Pōhue area was alive and pumping.
“There were full forestry camps, Ministry of Works camps and big stations and ballot blocks like Crohane, Mimiha, Twin Creeks, Tarawera, Woodstock and Tatraakina.
“The schools were full of kids and the communities were thriving, and the local sports day had become so big the boys thought, why not have a non-points rodeo on a separate day ... And so, the Upper Mōhaka Rodeo was born.
“A scrim, a few cars for an arena fence … What possibly could go wrong?"
As time passed, the Meeanee Rodeo came to an end, so “the boys got serious”.
“Dick Cave had his Brahman bulls and the Meeanee horses, and it was time to build an arena.”
The event eventually became a second-division rodeo.
“It was a place where young cowboys and cowgirls could get their start in rodeo, learn their craft and have a go,” the post said.
“That was always a big part of what made Upper Mōhaka special; it was about giving people a start.”
Proceeds from the events helped community groups and contributed towards local facilities, including the purchase of a schoolhouse and a playcentre equipment shed.
Funds raised helped to pay for a history book about Te Pōhue and a community gathering.
The club also ran a rodeo to raise funds for local sports clubs, and ran rodeos in Dannevirke at the A&P showgrounds.
Rodeo events in New Zealand have faced backlash from some quarters in recent years.
In 2022, animal welfare groups went to the High Court in Wellington seeking a ruling that the dozens of rodeos around the country each year were violating the Animal Welfare Act.
The court dismissed the application for a judicial review. It did not rule on whether rodeos were lawful.
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based in the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.