The Waikato Rodeo will go ahead as planned on February 18, 2017 at Kihikihi Domain after a parliamentary committee decided not to ban the 30-odd rodeos held annually throughout the country.
The news will be welcomed by the hordes of families who flock to Kihikihi year after year.
A report by Parliament's primary production committee concluded there were adequate animal welfare safeguards, replying to the nearly 63,000 people who signed a petition organised on behalf of the SPCA, Safe and Farmwatch asking for rodeos to be banned.
At a time when rodeo has been in the news for the wrong reasons, the Waikato Rodeo has bounced back big time, attracting record crowds including more than 5000 for the national final in 2015.
Rodeo historian Gary Jackson heaped praise on the Waikato Rodeo Association, saying Kihikihi has the best set-up for rodeo in the North Island.