Gilbert Rodeo Parks- a showcase of western heritage and what Gilbert was, before it became overly populated with a majority of people that have very minimal knowledge of what the heart of rodeo beats around. Rodeo, 4H, FFA and livestock in general teach youth so much more then what you can see or even imagine. When you child had a large animal like a horse, goat, sheep, llama, cow, pig or chickens it takes a lot of time to keep this animal up with: grooming, feeding, watering, doctoring, training and keeping in shape. Instead of a child sitting at home watching TV or playing violent video games, your child’s life is consumed by this animal and a bond grows in time. Your child will realize this animal will never let him/her down and taking care of there animal is keeping them healthy and fit and when there older they will even realize that this animal and the people doing the same things have taught you a lot of responsibility and pride. At Gilbert Rodeo Grounds it was a place where the youth could go and learn a lot about themselves while learning from strong independent hard working adults how to be a good person while growing up. The city of Gilbert decided to terminate there lease for the land from Maricopa county because of a drainage repair that needs to be done due to the possibility of contaminating water coming from the ground. The repairs were estimated at 4.1 million dollars which GPC (Gilbert Promotional Corp.) does no have to pay. When they cleaned up the Dump before it was done improperly, a lot of protests include Maricopa county paying for majority since they leased it out UN safely. Gilbert had its last event this past weekend the children’s Rodeo. The Rodeo ended with a sad parting as the crowds know this would be that last even they would watch on this hill top. As of February 23rd the rodeo grounds will be completely taken apart. Where does this leave our groups 4H, FFA and Gilbert Days Rodeo? There scrambling to find another venue while keeping the families that surround Gilbert’s spirits in tact. This sad event leaves a lot of people with different mixed emotions. You have to think on a positive side and hold your head up high hand out a helping hand if possible during this struggling time. On the positive side maybe a new venue with expand and intertwine new families and new stronger spirits.