Rodeo termed a `success’ at Farmington

FARMINGTON — What is believed to have been Franklin County’s first rodeo, and one of the few held in Maine in recent years, has been termed a “tremendous success” by the sponsoring Farmington Rotary Club.

Declining to be specific, Don McIntyre, general chairman of the event held over the past weekend at the Farmington fairgrounds, said the club made a net profit of “many thousands of dollars.” The profit was much greater than anticipated, he said.

He said attendance on Saturday and Sunday was estimated at between 8,000 and 9,000 people, and many area business establishments benefited from the financial spinoff.

Pond Hill Rodeo of Castleton, Vt., has given the Farmington Rotary Club first refusal on a repeat performance next year, McIntyre said. Other local groups have indicated an interest in co-sponsorship another year, he said.

McIntyre said profits from the event will be put back into the community by the service club, but no decision has been made as to what charitable projects will be funded.