Pro Rodeo Canada Insider August/September 2023

INSIDER

Hotter than a $2 pistol is Eckville, Alta’s Ben Andersen, who won the Grande Prairie Stompede in great style onboard Vold Rodeo’s 11 Shorty. CPRA

photo by Shellie Scott.

PAYING ATTENTION

“Exciting” and “fast-paced” are great descriptors for the 2023 Canadian Professional Rodeo season to date.

With more members than the CPRA has seen in many years, a strong SMS Equipment Pro Tour roster and an uptick in the number of events overall, competitors from both sides of the border are competing before new and long-time rodeo fans.

As we approach the height of summer rodeo season–it’s rewarding to see the energy and interest in the sport of rodeo.

A few standouts to note: We have seven SMS Equipment Pro Tour Rodeos in the books, and all were well-attended events with athletes making the most of the higher added money and rigorous competition. The Maple Leaf Circuit season is also well on its way, with any non-tour rodeo taking unlimited entries part of that roster.

Athletes are paying attention to all sets of standings as the season moves on, as there are three different 2023 Finals in the offing. The SMS Equipment Pro Tour Finals, which takes place September 2 at the Armstrong, BC IPE and Stampede, the Canadian Finals Rodeo set for November 1–5 at Peavey Mart Centrium, Westerner Park in Red Deer, Alta., and the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals, which runs at the Canadian Western Agribition November 23–25 in Regina, Sask.

We also want to send a shout-out to CPRA committees and volunteers for committing so much time, energy and resources to make our events happen. We absolutely couldn’t do this without your efforts.

Follow the most recent rodeo results and standings at rodeocanada.com. Enjoy daily highlights, videos and news on our social media channels: Facebook and Instagram: @prorodeocanadaofficial l Twitter: @prorodeocanada.

Enjoy the summer rodeo trail, everyone; see you at a CPRA event soon!

PRESENTED BY PEAVEY MART

AUGUST

High Prairie, AB Aug 1-2

Strathmore, AB Aug 4-7

Regina, SK Aug 4-5

Grimshaw, AB Aug 5-6

La Crete, AB ............................................ Aug 8-9

Dawson Creek, BC Aug 11-13

Rimbey (Buck Lake), AB Aug 11-12

Prince George, BC - NEW Aug 17-19

Cranbrook, BC Aug 18-20

Pincher Creek, AB .............................. Aug 18-20

Lethbridge, AB Aug 24-26

Okotoks, AB Aug 25-27

Taber, AB Aug 26-27

Armstrong, BC Aug 30-Sept 1

SEPTEMBER

Armstrong, BC ......................... Sept 2

Merritt, BC Sept 2-3

Langley, BC (SB, BB, BR, LBR) Sept 2-4

Coronation, AB Sept 8-9

Medicine Lodge, AB Sept 9

Olds, AB Sept 15-16

Hanna, AB Sept 16-17

Edmonton, AB ** Sept 29-30

NOVEMBER

Red Deer, AB

Canadian Finals Rodeo ** Nov 1 - 5

Maple Leaf Circuit Finals ** ........ Nov 22 - 25

* indicates Special Event

** Points earned at Edmonton Pro Tour Rodeo count for 2023

(maple leaf) SMS Equipment Pro Tour Rodeo

*SB - Saddle Bronc | BB - Bareback | BR - Bull Riding | LBR - Ladies Barrel Racing

Cowboy Channel broadcasts the Canadian Finals Rodeo, Maple Leaf Circuit Finals and (maple leaf) SMS Equipment Pro Rodeo Tour rodeos.

Terry Cooke, President, Canadian Professional Rodeo Association

OUTSTANDING RODEO ACTION!

From Falkland to Sundre

BY CPRA

With the summer season well underway, we look back over the last few weeks of action and some moments that stood out.

Logan Bird’s winning effort at the Falkland Stampede was more of what fans have come to expect from the Nanton, Alta roper. Bird was a rapid 8.1 seconds for the win, which netted him $1,908.

Another chapter was written in a 2023 feel-good story as bull rider Cauy Schmidt continued his comeback from a careerthreatening injury at the end of the 2022 season with a pair of weekend successes. The Coronation cowboy mastered Vold Rodeo’s 267 Wolf Bait for 89 points to split the Stavely Pro Rodeo win with former Canadian Champion Jordan Hansen as both men pocketed $1,663. Schmidt added a solid second-place effort at Innisfail – 86 points for $1,432.

Ontario bulldogger, Tim Kemp, commutes from his home at Kincardine, Ont. (two and a half hours west of Toronto) to Alberta most weeks of the rodeo season. He has made that scheduling challenge work well enough to qualify for the last two CFRs.

Kemp took a big step toward a third CFR trip when he split the win at the late-May Gateway to the North Pro Rodeo at the Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement with a 3.7-second run for $2,659. The Buffalo Lake event is part of the SMS Equipment Pro Tour — the first 2023 stop that made the weekend more critical for competitors. Two-time Canadian Champion Tanner Milan was the co-winner at Buffalo Lake. Other winners at Buffalo Lake included reigning Canadian Bareback Riding Champion Ty Taypotat, who rode C5 Rodeo’s 601 Black Feathers to 88 points and

$2,605. Three-time World and Canadian Champion Zeke Thurston continued his winning ways with an 88.5-point ride on C5’s 605 North Star for $2,868.

Ben Anderson, the Eckville, Alberta bronc rider enjoyed big success on one of Canada’s biggest stages — the Grande Prairie Stompede as he spurred out an 89-point highlight reel on Vold’s 11 Shorty for a $3,158 payout.

The Wainwright brother combination of Dawson and Dillon Graham made it backto-back wins on the SMS Pro Rodeo Tour with an electric 4.1-second run at Grande

Prairie. The performance came on the heels of their Buffalo Lake win a week prior, giving the reigning Canadian champions the lead in the Tour standings.

The weekend also highlighted the first significant migration north for CPRA athletes who make their home on the south side of the 49th parallel. 2019 World Champion tie-down roper Haven Meged claimed top honours at Grande Prairie with an 8.7-second effort that netted the Montanan $3,337. Meanwhile, over at Leduc’s Black Gold Rodeo, the number two ranked tiedown roper in the world standings, Hunter

Jordan Hansen’s winning ride at the Grande Prairie Stompede on Vold Rodeo’s 846 Wild Time for 89.5 points. CPRA photo by Shellie Scott.

INSIDER

Herrin, bested the field with a 7.9-second run to add $2,419 to his bid to win a world title. Oklahoma cowgirl Sherrylynn Johnson ended a long absence from Canada and celebrated her return with the win at Grande Prairie, posting a 15.22 run for a $4,089 barrel racing triumph.

2016 Canadian Champion bull rider and two-time NFR qualifier Jordan Hansen enjoyed one of the most productive weekends of any competitor. The Amisk, Alta. talent got the win at Grande Prairie (89.5 on Vold’s Wild Time for $3,206), then cashed a second-place cheque at the Hand Hills Lake Stampede (82.5 points, $775) and finished off the weekend with a 3-5 split at Leduc (84.5, $793).

The four-day run that took in Alta. venues Marwayne (Lea Park Rodeo), Brooks (Newell Pro Rodeo), Rocky Mountain House (Rocky Pro Rodeo) and Bonnyville Pro Rodeo saw the Australian-born Canadian, Strawbs Jones, make the big move in the bareback riding with the win at the SMS Equipment Pro Tour rodeo at Lea Park and a tie for top honours at Bonnyville.

BC steer wrestler Stephen Culling has made no bones that his 2023 goal is a December trip to Las Vegas and the National Finals Rodeo. Culling took another step toward making that goal a reality with a very productive Canadian weekend.

The number 2 ranked bulldogger in the 2023 CPRA standings cashed the first-place cheque at Lea Park with a 3.4-second run

for $2,419, then was fifth at Bonnyville and split 4/5 at Brooks for a $4,155 total weekend haul, money that will make a difference in the standings, both north and south.

When two superstars meet, the results are often spectacular. And when those superstars are both World Champions, the outcome can be magical. That was the case at the mid-June Wildwood Bronc Bustin’ when three-time World and Canadian Champion Zeke Thurston met up with the outstanding Calgary Stampede mare, X-9 Xplosive Skies, in the championship round. The two combined for an arena

record 93.5-point score that netted the Big Valley, Alta. cowboy a $5,000 cheque and $6,979 overall.

Xplosive Skies, for her part, is a true switch-hitter as she won her world title in bareback riding in 2021, then was Logan Hay’s dance partner at the Hardgrass Bronc Match in 2022 when the Canadian set the world record score in the bronc riding with his 95.5-point ride.

Meanwhile, Alberta-born and raised team roper (header) Clay Ullery, who captured a Canadian title in 2021 and his New York State native heeling partner, Jake Edwards, made a big move up the Canadian standings with twin wins that included a 4.7-second effort at Stavely for $2,334 apiece, then a split of the top spot at Innisfail (with world season leaders Rhen Richard and Jeremy Buhler.) Their 4.3-second run at Innisfail put another $2,209 in the Ullery/Edwards Wranglers for a weekend haul of over $4,500.

Canadian-born bareback rider Orin Larsen was on his game on the last weekend before the pivotal July Cowboy Christmas run as he collected two wins — Sundre Pro Rodeo (89.5 points on the Calgary Stampede’s A-91 Agent Lynx for $2,606) and High River’s Guy Weadick Days (86 points on C5 Rodeo’s 117 No Show Jones for $1,251). Also, Larsen was 4th in the long round, second in the short go and third in the average for a $3,403 haul out of

Brothers and team roping partners Dawson Graham (header) and Dillon Graham (heeler) swept the inaugural Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement Rodeo in 4.8 seconds for the win. CPRA photo by Billie-Jean Duff.

Heeler Dillon Graham's fast catch helped the team of brothers earn the Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement Rodeo Championship. CPRA photo by Billie-Jean Duff.

PRO RODEO CANADA

the Wainwright Stampede. Plus, factor in a second go-round win at Reno for another $5,405. The $7,260 in Canadian earnings will move the 2019 Canadian Champion into the top five in the Canadian standings, and the $12,465 injection into his PRCA earnings total means the 31-year-old veteran has improved his chances of keeping his NFR streak alive. That streak is at eight consecutive appearances but was in jeopardy after the thumb injury he suffered at last year’s NFR that required surgery (December 12) and kept him on the shelf until March of this year.

Curtis Cassidy is sitting on 12 Canadian championships in his brilliant career. A big-time performance at Wainwright makes it clear that the veteran is far from done. Mounted on his superstar gelding, Tyson, the second-generation Donalda, Alta. cowboy was second in the first of two early rounds, then topped the field in the short

go with a smoking 4.0-second run to capture the average crown with 12.8 seconds on three head to pull over $6,500 out of one of two SMS Equipment Pro Rodeo Tour stops on the weekend (Sundre was the other).

Other CPRA competitors who made their presence felt during weekend action included 2019 World Champion and runnerup for that year’s Canadian tie-down roping title, Haven Meged. The Miles City, Montana, hand won a round, finished second in both the short go and the average (to Shane Smith), then added a ninth-place finish at Sundre for a productive $6,750 stay on the Canadian side of the 49th parallel. The weekend success was made all the sweeter as the recently married roper watched his wife, Shelby Boisjoli, rack up some paydays of her own. The Canadian-born cowgirl split the breakaway roping win at Bassano (with McKenna Schauer, 2.1 seconds for $1,021), then added a 4th place Sundre cheque of $2,027

along with a third place in the long go and second in both the short go and the average at Wainwright for an additional $2,400 plus bringing her Canadian paycheck to $5,500. Oh, and she split the opening round, then won the finals and the average at Reno for $12,000 plus to go along with her husband’s first round Reno win for $5,400. It was, you might say, a power week for rodeo’s newest power couple.

And on the subject of Breakaway

Roping, Claresholm, Alta’s Shaya Biever 40-percented [won the long go, short go and the average — Editor] the field at Wainwright with runs of 2.0 seconds in the long go and 2.1 in the short go to win both go’s and the average for $3,060 in take home pay. The 2022 CFR qualifier bettered her chances of a return visit to Red Deer as the impressive Wainwright effort will move her from 19th place into the all-important top 12 in the season standings. c

ROAD TO THE CFR

CLAY ELLIOTT

IRON SHARPENS IRON

BY TIM ELLIS

It was not the path Clay Elliott expected to be on. But he’s navigating it with the same intensity and drive that made him a Canadian champion and a world title contender.

“It’s given me a chance to revisit some goals that I hadn’t attained,” offers the 29-year-old Elliott on his change to the tie-down roping event. “I’d say I’m in the building stages.”

The switch was not something that Elliott, who won his first of two Canadian saddle bronc titles in his sophomore year on the pro rodeo trail, had contemplated. But it was the option decided upon after learning his bronc riding career had come to an end.

“Honestly, it wasn’t until last year that I came to terms with it,” reveals Elliott, who fractured his neck after being bucked off in Guymon, OK, in May 2019. “I could write a dang book on the emotions I felt after the injury.”

“The first year after the injury was an effort to get healed up so I could get back to riding bucking horses. After those twelve months, I saw a bunch of doctors who didn’t give me the answers I wanted. So, what did I do? I went to see more doctors, who all told me the same thing. There was a lot of anger, the feeling of unfinished goals; I felt it all.”

Now four years after the injury, Elliott is off to his best start in the tiedown roping.

“Roping was probably my best event in college,” suggests Elliott, who attended Panhandle State University in Oklahoma. “Then I transitioned to the bronc riding, which became my priority.”

“There are so many different steps you have to work on in the roping. I mean I didn’t just lean on my neighbour to teach me to ride broncs; I went to the very best

riders in the world. That’s what I’m trying to do now in the roping.”

To that end, he’s travelled to Texas to enlist the help of seven-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier Cade Swor and has partnered up with reigning Canadian champion Ty Harris on the Canadian pro rodeo trail.

“Iron sharpens iron,” quips Elliott, who qualified for the NFR in the bronc riding on three occasions. “I just wish I was better at it.”

“I loved the feeling of winning when I was riding. I haven’t had that feeling in

the roping yet, and that’s frustrating. But it drives me to want to practice more and get better.”

And that practice is paying dividends. Elliott was eighth in the Pro Rodeo Canada roping standings by mid-June with more earnings than he had won in 2022.

“The goal this year is to qualify for the CFR,” says Elliott, who’s been riding an 18-year-old mount named Mr Cool. “But I’ve still got a lot of freaking work to do. My roping is nowhere near where it’s going to be. It’s a five-year plan to win a Canadian title.” c

Clay Elliott roping in the slack at 2023 Wainwright Stampede on his horse, Mr Cool Photo by Wildwood Imagery/Chantelle Bowman

“I don’t know why you are so upset. You already knew I had no money when I came in to borrow it.”