Raymond is a town in southern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by the County of Warner No. 5. It is south of Lethbridge at the junction of Highway 52 and Highway 845. Raymond is known for its annual rodeo during the first week of July and the large population of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Raymond is also significant for its connection to the history of the Japanese experience in Alberta. The town has a rich history in high school sports, basketball, Canadian football, Judo and women's rugby. Raymond was recently mentioned as one of the first communities in Alberta to become a net-zero solar-powered community, after having installed solar panels on most town buildings.
Former sugar beet processing factory, converted into a grain elevator when acquired by Parrish & Heimbecker
Raymond's last historic grain elevator. Demolished 2009
Rodeo is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States, western Canada, and northern Mexico. Today, it is a sporting event that involves horses and other livestock, designed to test the skill and speed of the cowboys and cowgirls. American-style professional rodeos generally comprise the following events: tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, Steer roping, saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, bull riding and barrel racing. The events are divided into two basic categories: the rough stock events and the timed events. Depending on sanctioning organization and region, other events such as breakaway roping, goat tying, and pole bending may also be a part of some rodeos. The "world's first public cowboy contest" was held on July 4, 1883, in Pecos, Texas, between cattle driver Trav Windham and roper Morg Livingston.
Bucking horse at the Calgary Stampede in 2002
Branding calves, 1888
Exhibition riding in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
Fannie Sperry Steele, Champion Lady Bucking Horse Rider, Winnipeg Stampede, 1913