Competitor Alan de Souza won third place in one of the oldest and most traditional rodeos in the world, the Calgary Stampede. The placement was celebrated by the Brazilians who followed the athlete’s journey during the 10 days of competition of the Canadian event, which ended on Sunday 17.

Alan de Souza won the vacancy to participate in the Calgary Stampede by winning the direct from the Festa do Peão de Barretos in 2021, when the partnership between the two events began. Now, Canadian bull riding champions are invited to compete in the Barretos International Rodeo in August.

“I am very happy. I wanted to thank you for all the support I received. I never imagined that I would arrive in Calgary and the Festa do Peão de Barretos gave me this opportunity. I rode to win, but it’s hotly contested and I celebrate third place with a lot of pride. To come to Canada, you have to be prepared,” said Allan de Souza just after his victory.

For the organizers of the Festa do Peão de Barretos, the partnership with the Calgary Stampede has already proven very successful. “This is a very big victory for Brazilian rodeo. Alan put in an excellent performance, showed the quality of the national rodeo and came very far in the competition, which was very fierce,” said Jeronimo Luiz Muzetti, president of Os Independentes, the association that promotes the party in Barretos.

The winner of the 2022 Barretos International Rodeo, which takes place during the Festa do Peão, also has a guaranteed spot at the Calgary Stampede in 2024.

The Festival of the Peão de Barretos

The 65th edition of the Festa do Peão de Barretos takes place from August 18 to 28 at Parque do Peão, with an intense cultural, sports and entertainment program. In the artistic program there will be more than 100 shows spread across the stages of the complex, including names like Jorge & Mateus, Gusttavo Lima, Cesar Menotti & Fabiano, Wesley Safadão, Maiara & Maraisa, Bruno & Marrone, Alok, Pedro Sampaio Guilherme & Benuto, Clayton & Romário, João Bosco & Vinicius, Deive Leonardo, among others.

On the sports side, there is a rodeo every day, including contests in the categories Bull, Horse – Cutian, American saddle and bareback, Três Tambores and Team Penning.

The cowboy tradition lives on with the Queima do Alho contest, the Berrante contest, catira shows and a stage dedicated solely to viola fashion, the Raízes Sertanejas.
To find out more about the event, visit the website of The Independents.