In last week's column I told you a little of the story of Alan Light, once from Yallock and now retired in Drouin. I told you of his lifelong love for Beth, and hers for him, but Alan had at least one other great love.

Beth might be the love of his life but Alan also loved horses. On the farm at Yallock there were four horses, two for the ploughing and harrowing, and two for the spring cart. That cart was used to take milk into Bayles. Alan drove the cart. He remembers that the Bayles station had a special ramp dedicated to the loading of spuds,
One day his Dad bought a grey filly that had played up in the ring at the Dandenong market. Perhaps alarmingly for her, the knackery from Tooradin brought her down to Lights in his truck. "She was a lovely mare and a good stockhorse. I took her to shows and we won more than 40y ribbons…a neighbour transported her for us." He rode at the Pakenham Show for years and enjoyed most the Potato Race.
She was called Gothic, for some reason Alan did not recall, and she had two foals. Alan broke them in and they were both good horses, too.
It was probably inevitable that he'd become involved with the Lang Lang rodeo. It was probably inevitable that his involvement would last more than 60 years.
Alan remembers the locals supplying the wild cattle for the rodeo. He remembers Jack Gill with great respect; Jack supplied many of the cattle and horses and helped set up the rodeo. He remembers Jim Ridgeway and Hughie Bourke as pioneers, there from the start.
Alan was chairman of the rodeo committee for 12 years, and then was on the Lang Lang Show committee when the rodeo was being run as a sub-committee of the show committee. He served for a time as the ringmaster, the man who keeps the show organised and moving along.
He proudly remembers being invited to the Australian National Rodeo Association and being presented with a certificate of recognition, and another he had to bring home to Hughie Bourke. Hughie had a few years on him at the time and could not come to Queensland for the presentation.
Alan remembered Colin Leeson, Jimmy Brown, Colin Gardiner, and David and Hughie Bourke as great blokes and stalwarts of what is still Victoria's best rodeo.
I could go on about Alan's simple standards of service and hard work, and one day I might. But I found a couple of pieces on Trove that I'd like to share with you. I could go on about Hughie Bourke and high jump competition for dogs – perhaps I will.
I found this from April 2, 1948
"This family orientated rodeo is held traditionally each year on Easter Monday. It bucks into action all day for spectators with Barrel Racing, Roping, Saddle Bronc, Bull Riding and more. The Lang Lang Rodeo has been running since 1944, for novice and open competitors that travel the circuit throughout Victoria. It is the first event with the Australian Professional Rodeo Association inducting it into the "Hall of Fame"."
As the Cardinia Shire's event of the year in 2016, the rodeo is a fantastic family day out, each year the event gathers the best riders through the country. There are junior and ladies barrel races, steer riding, bucking bronc, and the ever popular bull riding and much more. The "Hughie Bourke Memorial" dog high jump is a great crowd pleaser with cash prizes for the winner and runner up.
With food stalls, amusements, and plenty of action, for every age group, the exciting day out starts at 10am. The rodeo is affiliated with the APRA association.
The 1948 rodeo took 718 pounds at the gate, a huge amount in the day, reflecting the huge popularity built up only four years after the rodeo's start. It saw Bob Allen win the buckjumping event and come second in the bulldogging. He was a noted horseman from Keysborough, which would not produce many rodeo stars these days.
That program also included steer-riding, open hunt, pony hunt, releasing surcingle (I have no idea what those three events involved), a jumping exhibition, the flag and barrel race, handicap trots and – wait for it – a 15 Mile Handicap Trot.
The paper also mentioned that Alphington's Norma Jory rode against the men in the Open Steer Riding competition and did very well. There cannot have been too many women riding in that event in those days.
A newspaper story after the 1953 Lang Lang Rodeo told us "A man dropped dead, a member of the Federal Parliament was run down by a savage buck jumper and 15 roughriders were injured in a rodeo at Lang Lang, 50 miles south-east of Melbourne today. Two policemen quelled nine brawls and the (one) ambulance was so overworked that private utility trucks were commandeered to move injured riders from the arena."
"The MHR, Mr G.W. Brown was not seriously injured by the crazed 'bronco. Mr Brown, with three other officials, was sitting on the running board of a car in the middle of the arena when he was injured"
The horse had thrown its rider about 100 yards from where the four men were sitting and galloped at full speed toward Mr Brown. He tried to run but the horse hit him hard enough for him to make a significant dent in the mudguard. He hit it headfirst and he was "dazed". The ambulance crew treated him for shock and a gash on his head. He went back to the car and saw out the rest of the program. That was not a bad effort.
That day there was a more serious tragedy near the official car, when Dick Poole collapsed and died of a heart attack. Dick Poole had a farm at Caldermeade. Seventy years old he was, still a very active member of the rodeo committee and had served as president..
There was a crowd of 12,000 but few knew what had happened. Mr Poole was taken from the ground in a utility because the ambulance had left 20 minutes earlier to take NSW's Tom Willoughby to hospital. A horse had rolled on him and broken his leg.
No announcement was made, so the crowd saw out the full rodeo, though some must have wondered why all the flags came down to half-mast a little later.
It was a wild old day.