The Birth of Hellbilly Ranch and Freeride Rodeo

A few months ago, just outside the city of Leduc, AB. A few die-hard dirt bike riders gathered at the infamous Hillbilly Ranch to put on a very cool show for the local fans. This event became known as the Hillbilly Ranch and Freeride Rodeo. With this year being a ‘feeling out’ process, 2017 will see this brand new event return with Red Bull Canada support as it builds momentum for the future.

Located just south of the capital city of Alberta lies Leduc County, a quiet area known for farming, country living and the oilfield. This is where you will find the infamous moto paradise, Hellbilly Ranch, the home of the Freeride Rodeo. The acreage was purchased in 2013 by Mike and Dayna Good, when they moved from the busy city to seek a more quiet and peaceful way of living, or so they thought until the moto playground came to fruition. Mike always dreamed of riding dirt bikes as a kid but never had the privilege to do so when growing up. He became a successful business owner in the concrete foundation industry with LADS Foundations, which opened up the door to owning the land where he could give his 12-year- old son Brody the toys he dreamed of having.

Tim Mielke, a local rider and close friend of the Good’s, introduced Mike to the Flossy Bumz founders, Morgan and Cody Kaliszuk. These two brothers from British Columbia spent a majority of there lives traveling the country, performing and competing in FMX. Eventually the Kaliszuk brothers made the move to Alberta for work. Trying to find a place to train proved difficult in this area, so being introduced to the Good family was the beginning of something big. Together with the right connections and the right group of friends ready to put in work, they began building and reshaping Mike’s land into a full size Freestyle course, Motocross track, and Speed&Style course with the huge support from JAK Equipment. The freeride layout was inspired by skateparks, so the compound enables the rider to be as creative as they want when it comes to putting lines together. “The goal was to build a course completely different from anything we have ever rode to keep a new element of excitement each time you ride” -Morgan Kaliszuk.

The Freeride Rodeo is a product of many influences. Mike Good, being a family oriented man with a passion for ranch living, not only had a vision for the venue, but also wanted to keep the event alcohol free and professional. Tim Mielke has a background rooted in racing, and wanted to bring the intensity of that to the course. With their Freestyle background, Cody and Morgan Kaliszuk applied their experience to making sure the event had key features and marketing. The rider roster was tight, and the amount of spectators was limited so the focus was truly on the riding.

Volunteers put in a lot of time when it came to the planning and execution of the event. The Concert stage, podium, and trophies were created, the riders also volunteered their time and effort by traveling to the event from all over Western Canada. There was food trucks and live music brought in from Edmonton to feed and entertain the crowds. Two local Edmonton bands, “Kayne Incognito” and “Elements”performed on the outdoor stage. Everything was geared towards the youth to get them excited to ride and follow their dreams. Specialty Motorsports was also on site along with Lil’ Buckaroo Designs, who provided swag for the kids and spectators.

The event began with a Freeride FMX competition. The format was simple; each rider is given two 90 second runs, and the power is in their hands to judge each other on their performance. When mixing wind and 100 foot dirt jumps, it’s not a wise decision to be hanging off of your bike with one hand, but this didn’t stop anyone from throwing down their biggest tricks. From backflips, big whips, and all the crazy upright tricks being executed off such big jumps, the guys put it on the line and put on a hell of a show. Mark Phillips snagged 1st place by flipping back-to- back on some of the biggest features on the course.

After that was Speed & Style. When you combine bar banging racing and big tricks together, it’s bound to get interesting. The course had a whoop section, off camber doubles, pond jump, and a 75’ ramp jump. The course was tight and technical, but everyone held it together and the competition thrived. The riders battled head-to- head, and the winner from each moto advanced into the finals. Brett Turcotte ended up with the hard-earned win. With the conclusion of Speed & Style, it was time for all the smack talking to end about whose whip is the biggest. If there is any event that gets the blood flowing and the audience pumped, it’s best whip. Judged by the crowd, and undoubtedly the highlight of the event, 8 riders sessioned for the biggest whip, one after another, for 10 minutes. There were bikes getting turned past 90 degrees, upside down and in every direction. When the buzzer went it was Mason Bozarth taking home the win with his unbelievable inverted whips.

“This was on par with X Games best whip!” –Random Spectator

The show was closed with a bang. All the riders came into one jump, performing all their best tricks in a train just to make sure if everyone’s hair wasn’t standing straight up, it was now. After an action packed afternoon it was time to send everyone on their way and lock the gates of Hellbilly. Freeride Rodeo was a huge success and it will most likely become an annual occurrence, which hopefully inspires more, similar FMX events in Canada. A huge thanks to the Good family for opening their doors. Without the support that was received from friends, family, volunteers and sponsors this never would have been possible!

Sponsors: Jak Equipment – Killar Beads Welding – RedBull – Stealth Performance – Ranchman Custom

Knives – Lil Buckaroo Designs – Specialty Motorsports- Prairie Fire Events – FastCut –

Awards:

BEST WHIP- Mason Bozarth

SPEED & STYLE- Brett Turcotte

FREERIDE FMX CONTEST

1. Mark Phillips

2. Brett Turcotte

3. Morgan Kaliszuk