Pro Rodeo Canada Insider Aug/Sept 2021

Pro Rodeo

CANADA

Canadian tie-down roper, Kyle Lucas, finished in second place with this fast run of 7.6 seconds at the Greeley Stampede in Colorado, adding over $6,000 to his bank account. At press time, Kyle is sitting 5th in the World standings. PRCA Photo by Riding for the Brand Photography/Tanya Hamner.

RODEOCANADA.COM cowboycountrymagazine.com

INSIDER

Pro Rodeo Canada Insider

See you at the CFR!

Jacob Gardner, 2019 Canadian All-Around Champion at CFR 46 on Outlaw Buckers 102 OLS Tubs Nickel Package. CPRA photo by Billie-Jean Duff.

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Canadian Cowboy Country August/September 2021

C.P.R.A.

2021 CPRA Schedule JULY

Great News Greetings everyone!

Well, I’m excited to see we’re back on the rodeo trail. While we’re in the midst of a shortened rodeo season, it’s great to see those committees in a position to do so, move ahead with their events.

And looking into fall, plans are underway to hold both a Canadian Finals Rodeo and a Maple Leaf Circuit Finals.

A set of unique CFR qualifications, taking into account the challenges of the last year and a half, were announced in late June: • There will be no minimum rodeo count for contestants to qualify for CFR • There will be no minimum rodeo count for stock contractors to qualify for CFR • There will be no minimum stock trips for stock to qualify for CFR • Stock submission deadline will still remain, as per the CPRA rulebook • There will be a one (1) rodeo count needed for contract personnel and contract acts to qualify for CFR and year end award ballots.

Updated information has also been posted on the RodeoCanada.com website about qualifying for the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals. The four-day rodeo is set to run Nov 24–27 as part of Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, Sask.

Also, there’s great news for breakaway ropers — this new event will be included at the 2021 CFR and the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals. The CPRA is currently working on event approval with the WPRA. Congratulations to those CPRA athletes and stock contractors who continue to enjoy success south of the border. Several CPRA athletes are ranked in the top 15 in the World/PRCA standings.

Keep in mind the Canadian Cowboy Classic Golf Tournament (with proceeds going to the Canadian Pro Rodeo Sport Medicine Team). The tourney is scheduled for Sept 14 at Valley Ridge Golf Course in Calgary. Visit CanadianCowboyClassic.com for details.

With rodeo gearing back up once again, the CPRA is looking for sponsors for the 2021 year-end awards and the Night of Champions and national level partners for various programs (Officials, Pro Tour and Maple Leaf Circuit). Contact the office for details 403 945-0903 or email cpra@RodeoCanada.com See you down the rodeo road!

Bonnyville, AB.............................................................July 9–10 Teepee Creek, AB......................................................July 10–11 Bowden, AB............................................................... July 17–18 Lea Park, AB.............................................................July 23–25 Kennedy, SK.............................................................July 24–25 Medicine Hat, AB.................................................... July 29–31 Strathmore, AB................................................ July 30–Aug 2 Pollockville, AB *(SB).....................................................July 31

AUGUST Bruce, AB.............................................................................Aug 1 Sundre, AB.................................................................... Aug 6–8 High River, AB............................................................... Aug 7-8 La Crete, AB............................................................... Aug 10–11 Stavely, AB.................................................................Aug 12–14 Dawson Creek, BC...................................................Aug 12–15 Sundre, AB *(LBR)................................................... Aug 14–15 Cranbrook, BC..........................................................Aug 20–22 Drayton Valley, AB.................................................Aug 27–29 Okotoks, AB..............................................................Aug 27–29 Regina, SK.................................................................Aug 27–29

SEPTEMBER Innisfail, AB....................................................................Sep 2–4 Kamloops, BC ..............................................................Sep 3–5 Benalto, AB....................................................................Sep 3–5 Taber, AB.......................................................................Sep 9–10 Coronation, AB.........................................................Sep 10–12 Medicine Lodge, AB...................................................... Sep 11 Taber, AB......................................................................Sep 11–12 Olds, AB....................................................................... Sep 17–18 Medicine Hat, AB......................................................Sep 17–19 Edmonton, AB .........................................................Sep 25–26 Brooks, AB................................................................Sep 24–25 Hanna, AB..................................................................Sep 24–25

NOVEMBER Canadian Finals Rodeo **........................................Nov 3–7

DECEMBER Maple Leaf Circuit Finals **...............................Nov 24–27 (SB) Saddle Bronc (LBR) Ladies Barrel Racing ** Indicates livestreamed on FloRodeo All dates are subject to change. Please visit RodeoCanada.com for up-to-date information.

Terry Cooke President, Canadian Professional Rodeo Association cowboycountrymagazine.com

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Pro Rodeo Canada Insider WHAT DOES IT TAKE?

ENTER & DRAW THE WORLD OF C.R.E.S.

BY DIANNE FINSTAD

L

ong before the stock is unloaded, the arena ground prepared, and the bleachers dusted off, a significant portion of the organizational work of a pro rodeo has already been completed, back at CPRA rodeo headquarters in Airdrie, Alta.

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Bringing order to what could easily be chaos are the people at C.R.E.S. — the Central Rodeo Entry System. It’s how cowboys enter a rodeo, where match-ups happen in the rough stock events, and how performance line-ups are determined.

Dakota Firkus is the C.R.E.S. Manager, and she outlines the system’s function.

“It takes all the entries that are either phoned in or made online and does the priority listing based on the person and the card number,” says Firkus.

Sound straightforward? Let’s dig deeper.

Entry closing dates are specified, along with the details of each rodeo, on the Pro Rodeo Canada website events calendar.

Generally, entries close about two weeks before a rodeo happens.

“Once all the entries are taken, we go through every entry and make sure their events are right, their groups look normal — that they’re all entered in the same events, and then we run a priority list,” she explains. “It assigns each contestant a number per rodeo — for every individual rodeo — and then when we do the draw, it places them upon the number they were assigned for that rodeo.”

So how are priorities determined?

First, it’s the card ‘ranking’ — whether the entrant is a full member, semi-pro, permit holder, steer rider or novice. The next determiner is the number of rodeos the competitor enters for the given weekend. The more rodeos you’re entered, the higher your priority becomes. During the majority of the busy season, most weekends have three to four events at the same time.

A rodeo committee can now implement some special ground rules, giving a priority preference in their show to past champions, current standings, or the previous year’s finishers.

Logistically that adds another layer and is a process still done by hand. Administrative staff have to go back through previous CFR/NFR champions lists and the standings, both past and current, to collect information on each contestant. Those rodeos become ‘all hands-on deck’ at the office, where other staff help out with the process.

The computer system, called AccuTerm, is unique to the CPRA. “It is an old system, but it’s a very easy to use, easy to catch mistakes, system.”

Canadian Cowboy Country August/September 2021

C.P.R.A.

Opposite page: C.R.E.S. Manager Dakota Firkus in her office at CPRA headquarters, Airdrie, Alta. Photo courtesy CPRA. Top right: Katie Van Hienen is the Payout and Memberships Lead, and former Airdrie Pro Rodeo royalty. Photo courtesy CPRA Bottom right: The old entry system; cubicles, tape recorders and lots of notes

Entries for a rodeo are open online for 48 hours and for phone-ins over an eighthour office day, closing at 2 p.m. on entry closing day.

Full stop. No amount of pleading, cajoling, or sad stories and excuses about why the deadline was missed will bend the deadline. However, there is a one-hour grace period when entries can be changed but not ‘made’. Contestants can find out how many are entered in their event in a specific performance and may decide to adjust their pick of days.

Then the contestant’s list is posted by 8 a.m. the next morning on the website.

Some still ‘callback’ to get the information by phone, but there has been a big shift to checking those details online.

The C.R.E.S. move to online began in 2015, but it’s taken some time for competitors to build trust in the computer system, including online entering. While the whole process is all about the numbers, there’s still the people factor to consider.

“I will say that 99 per cent of the contestants are wonderful and ‘get it’, says Firkus.

“They ask questions, but you can’t blame them. It is their livelihood.”

“As long as they’re patient and kind, it goes both ways. They do get a consistent answer across the entire office,” she chuckles, noting some cowboys have been known to try and collect a different answer from someone else.

“They question the priority list a lot.

It is posted at each rodeo for them to see, but they do call in quite often wondering why they didn’t get a good draw. So a lot of the next day of callbacks is just walking guys through where they fell on the priority list, and how they ended up where they got (drawn).”

Much as there are cowboy superstitions about hat placement on beds (don’t do it!) or lucky shirts, there are also some ideas about the ‘lucky’ way to play the priority game.

“The cowboys all have theories on who has a ‘hot card’ and who doesn’t. They cowboycountrymagazine.com

watch the priority list and then try to enter on the card they assume is the ‘hot one’ of the week.”

Oh yes, did we mention you can enter as a buddy group of up to four contestants, as long as they’re all sharing one

common event? Plus, you can ‘tag’ up to two people — basically your ‘cohort’ — spouse, common-law, siblings, or parents, to enable travelling together despite competing in different rodeo events. Add that to the variables list!

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Pro Rodeo Canada Insider How about the stock factor in the equation?

Firkus says contractors for each rodeo submit an overall stock list, along with their per event, per performance lists.

They can have a limited number of featured stock they want exempt from the re-ride pen. So Firkus then hand enters

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the stock into the system for each rodeo performance, enabling the computer to then draw a priority list for the stock, and then finally, matching it up with the contestant priority list to emerge with the final draw to be posted. (The judges and rodeo secretary draw timed event stock at the actual rodeo.)

Now throw into the mix real-life factors, like injuries, missed flights, or vehicle breakdowns, and not every competitor will make every scheduled rodeo appointment.

That’s where Katie Van Hienen comes in, as she looks after the ‘turnout’ line, along with being the Payout and Memberships Lead. Contestants can call to notify the C.R.E.S. office if they won’t make it to an event. While there are provisions such as a Medical Release and the Ladies Barrel Race Release (formerly called a Vet Release), the timing of the notification is critical to keep fines down. As well, on medical exemptions, there are some required time frames to be out of action, if those are used.

“I relate it to a doctor’s or physio appointment,” notes Van Hienen. “You book it and if you miss it, they can fine you, or keep a retainer, or (charge) a late fee.”

Technology has improved the efficiency of the turnout line, as voicemails become emails that are more easily managed and checked by rodeo secretaries.

The tech transition has been embraced more by younger competitors who go online for everything they can.

Some contestants who get their parents to help, or are new to entering, prefer calling to get to know the system. Or there are also the ‘flip-phone’ folks who may venture into online entering but still want to call in to check their transaction went through.

Being involved in the entering end of pro rodeos in Canada is something these ladies enjoy.

“It’s consistent every day, but every rodeo, every draw, every infraction report and payout I produce, it’s all different,” says Van Hienen, a former Airdrie Rodeo Princess. “It keeps things interesting. That’s why we’re still here.”

Firkus agrees.

“I think it’s a rewarding job. The contestants are all pretty good to us. I love my job, and we do have a good group of girls here that keeps us all coming back to the office.”

Steering through the complex matrix that pro rodeo in Canada demands, it’s nice to have some smiling faces doing the navigating. c

Canadian Cowboy Country August/September 2021

C.P.R.A.

ROAD TO THE CFR

Logan Hay winning Round 3 of 2019 CFR with this 86-point ride on Outlaw Buckers 509 Lunatic Party.

Photo by Billie-Jean Duff.

LOGAN HAY CARVING OUT A CAREER

By TIM ELLIS

cowboycountrymagazine.com

I

T’S NOT EASY CARVING OUT YOUR PROFESSIONAL RODEO CAREER WHEN YOU’RE BEING COMPARED WITH AN EIGHT-TIME CANADIAN SADDLE BRONC CHAMPION WHO HAPPENS TO BE YOUR FATHER.

But Logan Hay seemed to be on his way to doing just that until his ascent up the ranks of the bronc riding ladder was interrupted by a pandemic.

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Pro Rodeo Canada Insider

“It was pretty disappointing,” confirms Hay when discussing the cancellation of the 2020 Canadian Finals Rodeo because of COVID restrictions. “At the 2019 CFR, there were seven of us there for the first time. It was a completely new look for the saddle bronc riding, and none of us got to go back.”

With last year’s Pro Rodeo Canada campaign wiped out and prospects for a regular start to the 2021 season dwindling, Hay jumped in the truck with a trio of other young bronc riders and headed south of the border in January.

“We were supposed to go down for three days,” begins the 24-year-old. “But once we got down there, it became a lot harder for us to get back across the border. We only packed for three days but ended up staying for two months. We used a lot of dry cleaners for the shirts and jeans and laundromats for the rest. Luckily, I took my three favourite shirts with me. It was good to be 29

able to compete, but it was difficult, too. We were only going to one rodeo every week or week-and-a-half over those two months. It was really hard to get into a groove.”

By about mid-February, the 2017 Lakeland Rodeo Association champion had found his groove. Hay posted a new career-high with a 90-point ride in the semi-finals of the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo.

“I was pretty pumped up,” says Hay, who also won the second round of his bracket with an 87.5-point trip. “That horse (Wyatt Earp) had smashed me in the chute, so I was a little mad. I was sore after, could hardly walk, but the adrenaline was running high.”

Hay had banked nearly $6,500 in earnings by the end of February was climbing in the world standings with that ride. However, that success had created a problem.

Logan Hay, making a good ride on Kesler Championship Rodeo’s # 52 Willow Brook at 2019 CFR in Red Deer, Alta.

Photo by Billie-Jean Duff.

“We had no idea what was going to happen,” reveals Hay, who finished 25th in the 2020 PRCA world bronc riding standings.

“If a guy was trying to qualify for the NFR, coming back to compete in Canada was going to be difficult because you had to quarantine for two weeks. It was going to be extremely difficult to keep crossing back and forth across the border and quarantine while trying to make both the NFR and the CFR. That’s always the goal, and I really wanted to go to the Canadian rodeos. The last Canadian rodeo we had gone to was that 2019 CFR. It’s pretty crazy to think we went over a year-and-a-half without going to all the sweet rodeos up here. They’re always so much fun.” c

Canadian Canadian Cowboy Country CowboyAugust/September Country June/July 2021

CLOWNIN’ AROUND | CRASH COOPER

Ash Cooper Art and Ranch Gallery

"Sometimes I wish I was the last man on earth, just to see if all those women were telling the truth."

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