TUMBARUMBA celebrated the start of 2011 in sensational style, playing host to one of the most anticipated events on the Australian rodeo circuit.The Tumbarumba Rodeo has developed a sparkling reputation for producing some of the most spectacular thrills and spills, and this year's annual event did not disappoint.Over 2000 people walked through the gates of the Tumbarumba Showground on Saturday, eager to catch a glimpse of some of the best bronc and bull riders in the country.Rodeo organiser David Daniel was thrilled with the success of the day, despite admitting that numbers were down from previous years."I think the crowd was slightly down from last year, but we still had a lot of people come down to have a look," he said."The temperature forecast was for 42 degrees (on Saturday) but it just didn't eventuate, it wasn't as hot as expected but the crowds were probably turned away by the heat.""It was still a great day, everything went well and I was really pleased with the way that the stock was bucking."A number of local entrants boosted the high calibre card of riders, although Daniel admits the focus was on the bronc riders feature event with the top five Australian riders doing their best to stay in saddle.Speaking to The Daily Advertiser yesterday, Daniel said that the vocal crowd increased the exciting atmosphere, as the action in the ring got hotter, they got louder."The crowd were really good, they got right into it," he said.Featuring the exciting saddle bronc events as well as bareback, bull riding and barrel races, there was sure to be action aplenty."We had 43 open barrel races which is a lot for us that's really good," said Daniel."The numbers for the ladies were pretty fair as well which was nice, they soften the events a little bit."