Ross Millar moved away from rodeo’s home in Calgary before throwing himself into the competition—and in his first year nabbed himself the Ontario Roping Championship. Since then Millar’s involved himself in Ontario’s rodeo scene in a big way, having organized the RAM rodeo tour for the past 15 years.
“I always had a love for horses,” he says. “It started out as a hobby but became a release valve from a typical day in Ontario. It was a wonderful getaway.”
The rodeo tour takes place throughout Southern Ontario over the summer months, and last year featured everything from bareback riding to steer wrestling to tie-down roping. As it’s progressed Millar’s changed the rules to some of the sports in order to ensure the safety of the animals—and the Calgary Stampede has noticed, altering some of its rules as well.
“I really fully believe we’ve become leaders in the rodeo industry,” says Millar. “I’m proud to be involved in something so very Canadian, and one of Canada’s oldest sports.”
And leaders not only as organizers but as competitors. “The whole headwaters area is so rich in the horse industry—the amount of champions we have in this sport, and in each area—the list goes on and on,” Millar says. “People don’t realize the number of champions we have here.”