Smooth ride for Wairoa Rodeo

Eli Long holds on for life at the Wairoa Rodeo, A & P Show, in Northern Hawke's Bay. Photo / Paul Taylor

Bravery or completely crackers, whatever reason for mounting a bucking bull, president of the Wairoa Rodeo Club Ash O'Connor said it was spectacular day for a rodeo.

The annual Wairoa A & P Show wrapped up on Saturday with about 700 people attending the rodeo.

Despite a few cowboys being carted off in the ambulance, O' Connor said no animals were injured during the event.

"It was a hell of a good day, everyone enjoyed themselves. No animals injured themselves which was a particular highlight for me."

It was a tight fit if you were a crowd member, as hundreds squeezed themselves in to get a good view of the cow boys and riders.

"The bull ride went pretty good and so did the horses. We had a heap of rain before the rodeo, so it took a while to prepare the arena.

"It was a scorcher of a day, probably up there in the 30s. I was just really happy at how the whole day went. There were no complaints whatsoever."

O' Connor said a lot of organising had gone into the event and was proud to have a strong, supportive team backing him.

"The rodeo club in Wairoa is just unreal, a lot of fundraising goes into this sort of stuff and everyone works really hard."