It had become "too much of a battle" to keep going despite the annual February rodeo being a significant annual weekend event for Reefton, drawing hundreds of people and with a solid following on the rodeo circuit.
"I really thought that the town might have come to the party a bit more ... it's a big loss for the town, unfortunately."
Controversy with animal rights activists who have kicked up in more recent years had made it harder for the club to stage the event in terms of paperwork, although that was not insurmountable.
With no-one new offering to step up, the club would now investigate formally winding up.
The wider Reefton community had always benefited from the rodeo and in days gone by it had generated a number of associated events, including a parade in the town the day before, but that aspect had been getting smaller in recent years.
She pointed out the difficulty in getting committed people to step in as office holders and acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to run the event. It was a sign of the times although every year at rodeo time usually enough local people offered to help run the event on the day, "but that's not what we have the trouble with".
Transient employment in the area was making it hard to find permanent office holders.
At the same time some of Reefton's rodeo stalwarts now in their 70s wanted to step back.
"Usually we end up with someone in the position but lose them because they're dairy farmers. It's just getting harder. It's the same people,"
Ms Bollinger said. "It will be a sad thing - it's the same guys who have been doing it for so long."
- Brendon McMahon of the Greymouth Star
Greymouth Star
