With his ever-present cowboy hat, cowboy boots and wiry frame, Marty Seymour looks like he could be a bronc buster or a bull rider. Instead, as CEO of the Canadian Western Agribition (CWA), Seymour is riding herd on one of the top four livestock shows in North America.

Although the Regina-based CWA is not as big as the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo in Texas, or as old as the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, or as famous as the Calgary Stampede, the CWA may well be the best livestock show on the continent.

Seymour has some numbers to back up that claim. First of all, everything happens under one roof – the large complex of barns, arenas and show facilities called Evraz Place (named for a local steel company). “What makes us the best show is that we can put all the breeds of cattle [in the show at the same time],” said Seymour, the Carnduff, Sask., farm boy who’s been CEO of the CWA since 2011.

Over six days, the CWA puts about 125,000 people through the turnstiles at Evraz Place (also the site of the new Mosaic Stadium, which opens in 2017). The CWA, now in its 44th year, will also pump about $37 million into the provincial economy, $20 million of which stays in Regina.

Unlike the Stampede, which is really more of a party, the CWA is all about buying and selling cattle – primarily beef cattle, although the show does boast more exotic breeds of livestock, including bison, llamas, boer goats and katahdin sheep.

Like the Stampede, the CWA also has a rodeo, but it’s more than just cows and cowboys. The weeklong event is becoming more festival-like, with entertainment, live music and dancing, and special events such as Full-Contact Jousting, which pits six riders and horses against each other in medieval-style combat.

Seymour believes that the CWA serves another purpose: it’s where city and country meet and get to know each other better.

While Regina is a major service centre for the agriculture industry and home to a number of agricultural implement, chemical and food manufacturers and processors – not to mention the head office of Farm Credit Canada – most Reginans have no direct connection to farm life.

The CWA and the Farm Progress Show (the latter is Canada’s largest agricultural equipment and technology show, also held at Evraz Place in June), provide city slickers with an opportunity to get in touch with their rural roots. About 6,000 schoolkids annually visit the CWA to look at farm animals and find out where food comes from. (And, no, it’s not the grocery store.)

Every year, thousands of urban families attend the CWA, watch some horses, stock dogs and the rodeo, and learn a little more about the industry that puts food on their table and helps drive the provincial economy. With agriculture accounting for about 10% of Saskatchewan’s gross domestic product and more than 50,000 direct jobs, that’s no bull.

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