Why you didn’t see the Junior Posse at the War Bonnet rodeo this year – East Idaho News

IDAHO FALLS – Those that attended the Battle Bonnet Rodeo in Idaho Falls could have seen one thing was lacking from this 12 months’s occasion.

The Bonneville County Junior Posse has been an integral a part of the rodeo’s kickoff occasion and efficiency line-up since 2017, however earlier this 12 months the town of Idaho Falls opted to discontinue this system.

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Parks and Recreation Director PJ Holm tells EastIdahoNews.com there have been a number of components behind the choice, most of which had been financially motivated.

“The place we’re subsidizing (the posse) with metropolis tax {dollars}, we needed to be sure that no less than a portion of the members had been metropolis children,” Holm says. “Once we discovered that not a single participant or coordinator had been metropolis residents, it simply didn’t make sense for us to proceed this program.”

Holm explains the posse was costing the town about $6,000 yearly for about 20 members, who paid a “minimal price” of $30, to make use of the sector at Sandy Downs twice per week for six months out of the 12 months.

A part of that price, in keeping with Holm, included six to 10 hours of area preparation each week, registering and insuring members, together with funding journeys to state and regional competitions.

“They had been doing weekend rides they usually had been happening in a single day pack journeys. That’s numerous legal responsibility for the town,” says Holm. “It simply didn’t align with some other program that we did.”

Although Holm couldn’t justify this system persevering with on the town degree, he wasn’t unsupportive. Since all the staff’s members reside in Bonneville County, he reached out to the county commissioners to see if they’d the means to accommodate them.

“They really did discover a house on the market and I feel it’s a a lot better match for the children, for this system and for the county,” Holm explains.

However though not one of the posse members reside in metropolis limits, Josh Hatfield, the group’s teacher and co-founder, says that shouldn’t be a purpose to drop this system.

“Whether or not they reside within the county or the town, each one in all us help the town of Idaho Falls (as a result of we store right here),” Hatfield says.

Over the past six years, Hatfield says the group has labored onerous to be a part of the neighborhood and signify the town in numerous capacities.

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In 2020, the group held a fundraiser for an area lady with a uncommon illness they usually’ve additionally received two back-to-back state championships.

Although Holm cites prices as a think about dropping this system, Hatfield says every member of the staff paid for every little thing, together with journey prices, and every member of the group was prepared to pay extra charges to maintain it going.

“That was introduced up and that was provided to maintain this group going, however PJ made it very clear … he desires to take it in a unique path,” Hatfield says.

It solely price the town $1,500 a 12 months, Hatfield says, and the town took all the cash they raised at competitions.

“We by no means went on one pack journey,” Hatfield says, and the charges had been $90, not $30.

The one factor the town supplied was a spot to observe and an teacher, says Hatfield.

For among the children within the group, Hatfield says being concerned with the posse has been life-changing due to troublesome circumstances at house.

Every competitors requires an excessive amount of self-discipline and focus, Hatfield says, and helps the children develop management potential and offers them a way of belonging.

“One individual can screw it up for everyone,” says Hatfield. “They blow the whistle and these horses have to maneuver. In the event that they’re not in sync with one another, they lose. They need to be taught to work collectively … and for those who walked out to my observe … they’d all let you know they’re a household.”

Although the county has been supportive in offering them with a brand new facility, Hatfield says the state of affairs isn’t excellent and he’s involved concerning the group’s future.

“I don’t know what the longer term shall be after this 12 months. I don’t know in the event that they’ll need to signal a brand new settlement. I don’t know if I need to signal a brand new settlement, however no less than we had been capable of get by means of this 12 months for the children,” say Hatfield.

The Junior Posse in Bonneville County is the one one left within the state, Hatfield says, and in spite of everything they’ve completed to help the town through the years, he seems like they had been “kicked to the curb” and he’s dissatisfied within the metropolis’s determination to let it go.

“When you take a look at the subdivisions, even the brand new individuals shifting in, constructing homes, numerous them now have one horse within the yard. We come from a western heritage and it’s essential to (help) these children,” says Hatfield.

Hatfield is pissed off with the town for utilizing photos of the posse to advertise the Battle Bonnet Rodeo on Fb after deciding to drop them.

Holm says the choice to not sponsor the posse was not supposed to specific an absence of help. He sees the worth of it and maintains it’s a greater match on the county degree. Holm desires to see it proceed.

“We have now no in poor health emotions in direction of them. We’re 100% comfortable to see that they’re nonetheless working and that they nonetheless have a program they are often a part of,” says Holm.

The posse is exploring choices to maintain this system moving into a brand new area. In case you have options or wish to weigh-in, e-mail Hatfield at Hatfieldfarms2004@yahoo.com or name him instantly at (208) 360-2244. You can too be a part of the Bonneville County Junior Posse Fb group.