Rush Hour Moo: The show behind the scenes at Agribition
'It's kind of a controlled chaos'
Thousands of people descend on the Canadian Western Agribition in Regina during the day to check out milking presentations, rodeo and 2,000 plus animals.
Little do most of them know there's a separate spectacle going on behind the scenes.
Every night, the cattle in attendance take the traditional march outside to spend the night under Saskatchewan's living sky.
Tina Lees with C&T Cattle Co. has 10 cattle at Agribition this year. She walked us through what happens when the clock strikes six and evening tie out begins.
"Six o'clock is called tie out time and everyone has their animals ready to head out to tie outs, which are a set of stalls out in the open, in the cold," Lees says.
The stalls are a short walk from the warmth of the barn. There's room for hundreds of cattle to spend the night. Each day the stalls are mucked out, replenished with hay and prepared for the nightly rush hour.
"It's kind of a controlled chaos on our way out," Lees said. "They're all going at the same time and we all have to converge at the same opening into tie outs."
Despite the sheer volume of bovine, Lees says the herd just goes with the flow.
"The animals are clean, they're quiet. They know exactly what they're doing ... cattle are very routine oriented."
No rest for the wicked
What goes out must come back in. After the night outside all those cattle must head back into the barns.
They have to be in by 8 a.m. but Lees says on a show day the wake up time is much earlier.
"Our crew will be here at 2:00 a.m. so that the cattle are washed, dried, fed, have a chance to lay down and rest before you start fitting them for the actual show."
Golden Age of tie outs
According to Lees, the tie out was an even greater sight to see in years past. When Queensbury Downs was still running, the cattle would be led across the racetrack.
"That was phenomenal tie out time." "People would be up in the Queensbury centre and they'd be watching cattle go out. There would be around 2000 head of cattle all going out."
Catch full interview here:
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