Client Testimonials
Foothills Cowboys Association
Client Since: 2017
Location: Alberta, Canada
Interview Date: May 10, 2022
Representative: Suzanne Kelly
THE POWER OF CLOUD
"...it is web based so we can log in and use it from anywhere..."
With all your data stored securely in the cloud, you can use Rodeo Ready from anywhere.
SAVE TIME
"...[We are] easily [saving] 15 hours per Rodeo..."
Suzanne estimates that she saves 15 hours per Rodeo. With FCA running 10 Rodeos per season, that is up to 150 hours worth of time saved per season. The indirect benefits from Rodeo Ready also includes competitor satisfaction and the time savings that they experience by utilizing the multiple features we have to offer.
SAVE MONEY
"...People have realized...how easy it is...I don't have to hire someone on entry day to take phone calls..."
With the online entry system being user friendly and popular among competitors, Suzanne saves time and money by allowing the Rodeo Ready platform to handle entries.
COMPETITOR SATISFACTION
"People enter, pay their fees and they are done in less than 5 minutes"
Our platform aims to save everyone time so we can cut to the fun part. Rodeo Ready uses state of the art payment technologies to ensure security, speed and satisfaction for everyone. The majority of FCA's competitors prefer using the Rodeo Ready platform with 95% using online entries and 70% using online prepayment to pay their fees.
CLIENT INTERVIEW WITH FOOTHILLS COWBOYS ASSOCIATION
May 10, 2022
Can you describe your association and the general makeup of your competitors?
The FCA has been going since 1955 which is when they started by a group of people that wanted to get an association going that wasn’t pro. Our age groups range from probably about 8 to probably mid-60’s. We do have some families. We have some that are grand parents that are travelling with their grand kids or parents travelling with their kids.
We are still amateur, our rulebook does not allow pros to enter our events.
How many people compete in your rodeos over a season?
On average we have about 250 entries in each rodeo. On a normal year we have had upwards of 10 rodeos so if we say 250 that’s about 2500 entries over the course of a season. That would be in a normal year. It’s been tough that last couple of years.
Where do most of your competitors reside, where do you draw from?
Most of ours are Alberta. We do have a handful that come from southeastern BC and probably less than 10 out of Saskatchewan. We have some from the North but most are central Alberta.
How many rodeos do you have in a season?
Normally about 10 and we co-approve probably 20+ with Lakeland, Wildrose and Chinook. With the co-approvals, our members are probably going to 25 to 30 rodeos.
How many events do you typically have per rodeo?
We have our 7 major and those have to be at every rodeo. Then we can have anywhere from 4 to 8 optional and junior events. Most of them have the Junior Barrel Racing but not all have the Steer Riding and then Breakaway and PeeWee are all option. 7 majors and then 4 – 8 of junior, Junior Bull, Novice Horse, 2 Breakaways, Junior Barrel, PeeWee Barrel and Junior Steer Riding.
Do you have any unique events?
No.
What is the average fan attendance at your rodeos?
I would say average attendance over a weekend might be 700-800. Some are higher like Cochrane because it’s close to Calgary.
How do you advertise or market your association?
We have a Facebook page so we do a lot promoting stuff on our Facebook. Quite a few of our committees have Facebook pages. If I see something pop-up I will share their posts on our page and vice versa. I would say that’s the bulk of our marketing is on Facebook.
About the Rodeo Management System
How long have you been using RMS?
Since 2017. We started using RMS when I started with FCA.
What were the reasons you first considered RMS, why were you looking for a software solution?
The price was reasonable when it was $200 and that gave you unlimited support. We were paying $90 an hour for support before and each phone call would be $90 and that ads up fast. That system was tied to the computer so if you didn’t have computer you couldn’t do anything as it was a DOS system.
What were the reasons you chose RMS?
They just wanted to have a system that was better and easier to use. That old one was just not user friendly. Let’s just move forward.
What are some of the best features of RMS?
Oh, there’s so many. I like the fact that the secretaries can update the scores/times on site so we don’t have to wait until Monday and they would fax everything in. The fact that it is web based so we can log in and use it from anywhere and access the same data. You can use it anywhere. The simplicity of just being able to print the receipts and just email them off to the secretaries. We used to print off and now we save time, paper and cost on courier. There’s just so much. Even the prepayment of fees, that’s huge. Probably 70% of our members prepay now because that easy for them and that saves them having to stand in line at window at the rodeo office to pay their fees.
What features save you the most time?
The online entries and the payout calculations. It’s a lot of work to do everything manually from doing the judges cards to the draw to the payout calculations. The online entries honestly have been fabulous. When I started, we would be plugging the phone lines into the wall and it would be ringing. It would not stop ringing until you unplugged the phone at 3:00. We had two phone lines going, two people taking calls from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm with no break at all. I had phone in entries last night for our Caroline rodeo and I took 5 calls in a two-hour window. People have just realized how easy it is. I would say 95% of our people have switched to the online entry. They get an email confirmation. They don’t have to sit there from 9 until 3 and keep hitting redial because the phone is busy. For two hours last night I got caught on a whole bunch of work because I only took 5 phone calls. That one is huge, I don’t have to hire someone on entry day to take phone calls. This year we are trying to push everyone to online entries because it works better for us and better for the members.
The payout calculations the fact that it just all that work for you. That one is huge as well.
How has your use of RMS changed over the years?
Especially over the last 3 years the buy-in from members has just kept going up. I think the contestants love it because it saves them time as well. They don’t have to sit there for seven hours trying to get through. Who has time for that? The online system literally takes 2 minutes to submit your entry. It’s a huge time saving and once the contestants starting buying-in and realizing how easy it was and realizing “oh jeez, I can pay my entry fees too”. People enter, pay their fees, and they are done in less than 5 minutes. They are ready for that rodeo. It just saves them lots of time. It saves me time and it saves our competitors lots of time. Now I hardly get any phone calls. It’s a huge savings on both our ends.
What has been the response of your competitors?
I think overall it’s been very positive. The fact that they can see when the secretaries enter they can see the results from that day. Paying their fees, they like that. They can just show up at the rodeo and not stand in line. That’s just taken care of. Overall very positive.
Could you sum it up in the number of hours you save per rodeo in using our product?
The 12 hours for taking phone-in entries. During the week I’m doing other stuff. Plus the automation of the other things, easily [saving] 15 hours per rodeo. I don’t have to print everything to see it. With the old DOS system, you had to print everything and there were just piles of paper going to the garbage. Leaps and bounds it just saves us time.
Would you recommend RMS to other Rodeo Associations?
Absolutely.
I have recommended Rodeo Ready to several organizations that are looking for some type of program to run their rodeos and local jackpots.