ATHABASCA — This past year proved to a busy one for the Athabasca and District Ag Society after finishing their $100,000 renovations to the Ag grounds hall. But 2025 is gearing up to be an even busier year for the volunteer-run society as they prepare to bring a classic Canadian event back to Athabasca.
“As some of you already know, and have purchased tickets for — thank you — we are hosting the RCMP Musical Ride,” Camille Wallach, president of the ag society, told Athabasca town councillors during their Dec. 4 meeting.
“This will probably draw over 1,000 attendees and is a super big deal,” added Wallach. “It’s going to be a lot of work for our committees.”
The RCMP Musical Ride is a travelling showcase of the nation’s police force, both human and equine members. A cavalry of up to 32 regular officers and their mounts will perform skills and drills together in the arena, all set to a soundtrack. Athabascans will be able to see the show Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025.
Councillors and locals active on social media reacted positively to the news of the return of the musical ride, which last made an appearance in town in 2014. But one councillors memories stretched back to iterations of the event even further into the past.
“When they were here about 20 years ago, I was the warm-up act for the Musical Ride,” recalled Coun. Ida Edwards. “We’ve never forgotten that; we got to stand right beside the fence and those horses are absolutely amazing.”
Fellow board member Sasha Wallach said bringing the act back to town has been a feat two years in the making. The society applied to be a host community at the end of 2022, and the event travels to different provinces each year, but Sasha said the timing panned out well.
“We always want to be hosting really great events,” said Sasha. “It worked out with perfect timing, we did huge renovations this year, did a lot of big projects, so now we can celebrate.”
Along with the benefits of hosting such an event also come commitments; and in the context of the ag society, like many other community organizations, those commitments translate directly to volunteer hours.
Sasha’s initial estimates for pre-event planning include between 100 and 150 volunteer hours. She expects between 40 and 60 volunteers will be needed on the grounds the day-of, equating to at least 300 volunteer hours.
More details on specifics will be released around Mid-February, and locals interested in volunteering can contact the Ag society through any of it’s channels.
In order to lessen a portion of the necessary prep work ahead of August, Camille asked councillors to consider donating a complete mow of the grounds in the last weeks of July to ensure the site is ready for a full week of activity.
Locals will be able to peruse the grounds on Friday, Saturday before the ride, and again on Monday and Tuesday to meet the riders and horses, the latter of which will be boarding at the grounds.
The ride will draw spectators from around the county and likely beyond to the town, and will give the ag society the chance to show off their recently-completed renovations to the hall and upgrades to the riding arena.
Updates to the hall included new bathroom, kitchen, and bar countertops, new toilets, and a drop ceiling complete with an in-roof speaker system and new lighting, totalling over $100,000.
“I’m proud to say that 90 per cent of our purchases were made locally, and we hired a local contractor to carry this out,” said Camille. Another big project involved putting a heating system into the riding arena, also completed by local hands.
“In total in 2024, we estimate about $140,000 minimum we spent locally in the community, just on the renovations,” said Wallach.
Town councillors opted to defer the request for a grass cut ahead of the ride to their upcoming Dec. 12 budget meeting, but did vote 6-0 to approve a $1,000 donation for the society’s snow-clearing costs. Coun. Dave Pacholok was absent.
“I just want to say kudos to your team,” said Coun. Jon LeMessurier. “Over the past year I can really see that you’re making your presence known. The amount of opportunities you’ve given the community to come use your facility in a variety of ways is awesome.”
