Josh Lehmann was 20 years old when he passed in October 2023. (Facebook)

By Logan Lehmann

Celebrating life

Memorial Roping event aims to honour young cowboy and spread awareness of mental health

Jul 26, 2024 | 8:00 AM

A team roping and breakaway event is set to get underway for its first installment on Friday in honour of a man who died tragically this past October.

The first annual Josh Lehmann Memorial Roping is set to happen at Seager Wheeler Farm, a National Historical Site located 6km east of Rosthern on Highway 312.

(Josh Lehmann Memorial Roping/Facebook)

According to Josh’s sister, Morgan, the event is a way to keep his memory alive as roping was one of his favourite pastimes.

“He really enjoyed roping, so this was something we really wanted to do to remember him. It’s a way for everyone to come together and celebrate his life.” she said.

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The jackpot will feature a breakaway portion starting at 1 p.m., and the team roping has registration starting at 3 p.m. while the event itself starts at 4. Food trucks will also be on site.

Donations are being accepted with proceeds going towards a pair of charities that impacted Josh throughout his life, including the Rosthern Ag Society and The Do More Agriculture Foundation. A silent auction was held earlier this month with funds also going towards those charities.

Morgan added that the event was also to raise awareness for mental health.

“A lot of people may not have known that Josh struggled with his mental health,” she said, calling it an invisible disease. “People don’t choose to struggle in this way, just like someone doesn’t choose to get sick or to not have their treatment work. You can’t always tell who’s struggling.”

She continued by explaining that mental health affects people in the agriculture industry at alarming rates and it can be attributed to feeling like the need to have everything together or to handle things on your own.

The Josh Lehmann Memorial Roping is expecting to see around 30 total competitors in the breakaway event, with more expected in for the team roping jackpot. Friends and family from across the prairies have also said they will be there in support.

Josh was born in Saskatoon in Feb. 2003 and grew up in Rosthern before moving to a farm not far from the community. He graduated from Rosthern High School in 2021 and completed a Diploma in Animal Science Technology in 2023, Majoring in Beef Science at Lakeland College in Vermillion, A.B.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com