Pro Rodeo
CANADA
INSIDER VOLD ON VOLD
PHOTO BY MIKE COPEMAN
Jake Vold on Wayne Vold’s Mucho Dinero in the Final Four Showdown at the Ponoka Stampede. The Ponoka-raised cowboy scored 88.75 points for the Championship, $50,000 and a hearty handshake from all relatives named Vold, including stock contractor and arena director Wayne.
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2016 WORLD CHAMPION SADDLE BRONC RIDER 44
Canadian Cowboy Country August/September 2017
C.P.R.A.
2017 Canadian Professional Rodeo Association Schedule AUGUST
Hello to all CPRA members, committees and fans
PHOTOS COURTESY CPRA
Just a quick message to say hello from me and to say I hope everyone is having a great season. Things are moving along at a good pace and our events, in general, have been excellent with entries up in all areas. Our membership list has grown over last year, both full members and permit holders are up, and that is a good thing. Please don’t think for a minute that everything is wonderful because it’s not. We are working hard to improve in many areas and I think the communication between the office and committees has grown a lot since Randa Nugent has come on board. I want to mention that the Lea Park Rodeo committee went above and beyond to make conditions safe after horrible rains hit on Friday night and for that, we should be grateful. I would like to wish everyone the best for the rest of the season as some big events are coming up and there is a lot at stake. Please don’t hesitate to call someone when you have problems and hopefully we help solve them. Thanks and have a fun summer.
High Prairie, AB..................................... Aug 1-2 Camrose, AB *........................................ Aug 3-6 Strathmore, AB ProTour................... Aug 4-7 Grimshaw, AB........................................ Aug 5-6 La Crete, AB............................................ Aug 8-9 Dawson Creek, BC ProTour............. Aug 9-14 Jasper, AB................................................ Aug 16-19 Pincher Creek, AB................................. Aug 17-20 Cranbrook, BC........................................ Aug 18-20 Okotoks, AB............................................ Aug 25-27 Armstrong, BC ProTour..................... Aug 30-Sep 3
SEPTEMBER Merritt, BC............................................... Sep 2-3 Medicine Lodge, AB............................ Sep 9 Olds, AB NEW/RETURNING............. Sep 15-16 Brooks, AB.............................................. Sep 22-23 Hanna, AB................................................ Sep 22-24 Calgary, AB Grass Roots Final....... Sep 29-30 * denotes bull riding Dates are subject to change. Please visit rodeocanada.com for up-to-date information, up-to-the-minute rodeo results and draws.
— Terry Cooke, President Canadian Professional Rodeo Association Cell: 250-782-3344
cowboycountrymagazine.com
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Pro Rodeo Canada Insider
The Short Round THE GRASS ROOTS FINAL IT’S LAST CHANCE TIME
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Nancy Csabay on Little Miss Wicked, 2015 Canadian Barrel Racing Horse With the Most Heart
earned CFR qualifications by virtue of their successes at Calgary, barrel racer Nancy Csabay among them. 2016 was the second consecutive year that the Canadian champion enjoyed an exceptional weekend in Calgary. In 2015, Csabay and her talented mare, Wicked, used a big Grass Roots Final to capture season leader honours. Last year, the stakes were a little higher as Csabay was sitting 13th and needing a little magic if she wanted to return to Edmonton to defend her title. Csabay and Wicked finished third in both rounds and first in the average to win the Final and punch her ticket to the CFR (and her second Canadian title).
The Grass Roots Final also makes an exciting rodeo package available to fans at a very affordable price — $15/person (kids 12 and under get in free). Added to the two-day rodeo package is a western trade fair at the Agrium Western Events Centre and a kick-off event on the evening of Thursday, Sep. 28 at Ranchman’s Cookhouse and Dancehall. Grass Roots Final Team sponsors will select contestant team members, and fans and sponsors can enjoy rubbing shoulders with participants. Details are available at rodeocanada.com and tickets can be purchased from ticketmaster.com.
Canadian Cowboy Country August/September 2017
PHOTO BY MIKE COPEMAN
The Pro Rodeo Canada Grass Roots Final, presented by Ranchman’s, is all about opportunity. The first of two fall Finals rodeos, the Grass Roots Final is set for Friday and Saturday, Sep. 29-30, 2017 at the Agrium Western Event Centre at Stampede Park in Calgary. It offers competitors a late-season chance to qualify for the Canadian Finals Rodeo. Edmonton’s CFR, which takes centre stage just a few weeks later, is Canada’s premiere rodeo event at which the season’s champions are determined and crowned. For those cowboys and cowgirls on the outside looking in (only the top 12 money earners for the season qualify for the CFR) the Grass Roots Final offers one last opening to earn that coveted trip to Edmonton’s Northlands Coliseum. The Grass Roots Tour Finals features the top 10 qualifying contestants in the seven major rodeo events from the Grass Roots Tour, which includes all regular season CPRA rodeos except for Pro Tour venues. With 2017 as the fourth year for the Series, CPRA contestants have extended their rodeo seasons to include later season venues in order to have a shot — first at Calgary, then at Edmonton. And looking at the first three years of the Grass Roots Final, several athletes have
C.P.R.A.
From left: Zeb Pierce, Al, Georgia, Scott and Travis Bandy
AUSSIE UPDATE BLAST FROM THE PAST The Bandy brothers came over to Canada to compete in rodeo in the late 1990s. Scott won the CCA Bronc Riding Championship in ’97, and Al won it in ’98. Scott returned to Australia, but Al remained in Canada, married a Canadian girl (Brandi Byrne) and continued riding broncs, competing in the Canadian Finals Rodeo several times. Al, Brandi, and their daughters, Sarah, Kate and Addy, now ranch near Maple Creek, Sask., and in honour of Al’s milestone birthday, his brother Scott and a passel of family came over the pond to help him celebrate. Scott now runs a ranch in Australia.
DOG SAVES BARREL RACER
PHOTOS BY TERRI MASON; SUPPLIED
Tracy Matkea, CPRA’s 1996 Ladies Barrel Racing Permit Award winner, is alive today because of her heroic dog, Becky Jo. The four-year-old Australian shepherd / border collie-cross ran for help when a horse threw Matkea and left her critically injured and unconscious in the Arizona desert.
Tracy Matkea and her medal-bedecked lifesaving dog, Becky Jo
cowboycountrymagazine.com
In June, Becky Jo was one of three dogs inducted into the Purina Animal Hall of Fame for life-saving heroics, receiving $5,000 and a year’s supply of pet food. “It was amazing,” Matkea said. “It’s surreal, actually, that she saved my life.” The ordeal began on a day in January, 2016, when Matkea, a horse trainer, went for a ride on a young horse at her family’s winter ranch in Morristown, Ariz., accompanied by Becky Jo. During the ride, the horse spooked and threw Matkea, knocking her unconscious and dragging her almost a kilometre. After sticking by Matkea’s side for several minutes, Becky Jo raced home alone and started barking
furiously at her husband, Butch, who jumped on their quad. Becky Jo led Butch about five kilometres to Matkea, who was airlifted to a Phoenix hospital. The doctors at the hospital said Matkea wouldn’t have survived if she had been left bleeding for even 10 minutes longer. She suffered a fractured orbital bone, deep cuts to her head and face, and a severe concussion. She needed more than 100 stitches and staples in her head. Matkea said she has made a full recovery in most regards, but still suffers from post-concussion syndrome. Matkea and her husband adopted Becky Jo and her sister, Miss Kaye, as puppies from a give-away box at a store in Arizona. She said Becky Jo fully repaid the favour. The Purina Animal Hall of Fame has been recognizing life-saving pets since 1968. For more, visit purinahalloffame.ca
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COMPETITOR PROFILE
Dantan Bertsch on C5 Rodeo’s 701 Easy Money at the 2016 Cinch Pro Rodeo Canada Series Finals in Calgary, Alta.
DANTAN BERTSCH VALUABLE LESSONS By DIANNE FINSTAD
D
ANTAN BERTSCH GAINED A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE IN 2016. NOT ONLY DID HE FINISH UP HIS UNIVERSITY DEGREE, BUT HE ALSO EXPERIENCED A VALUABLE LESSON FOR HIS PRO RODEO CAREER.
It came along the trail to the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton. After turning pro in 2015, the 23-year-old from Eastend, Sask., made his first appearance last November as a full-fledged bareback rider. Bertsch had already demonstrated he knew how to win. In 2007, he took the Canadian Steer Riding title. Then, seven years later, he claimed the Novice Bareback Riding Championship. But making the move to the big leagues can take some adjustment. It’s often difficult for a young pro to find the pay window regularly. And rodeo observers will tell you in the last several years, competition in the bareback event has been tougher than ever in a very deep talent pool. 48
Yet, early in the 2017 season, Bertsch finds himself well situated among the top five riders in the Canadian bareback standings. “At Regina, I made quite a bit of money and got a nice jump,” he recounted. “Then I’ve been picking away at every rodeo, getting a little bit. This is the best start I’ve had.” Last year, Bertsch was finishing off his agriculture business education at Casper College in Wyoming. So he was still competing on the college rodeo trail and didn’t get back up to Canada until after graduation. “I honestly thought my year was kind of a write-off. I didn’t get started until almost July first. I was nowhere in the standings, and I thought I’d just go and make some money. But I ended up picking up some nice cheques at some good rodeos, and jumped myself higher and closer (to qualifying). “It was an eye-opener, even for me. Then I really started going. It came down to the Cinch Finals, and I made ‘er,” grinned Bertsch, who now ranches at home, and does custom calving and farming nearby. In fact, the Cinch Finals in Calgary helped a whole trio of young bareback riders make the cut. Bertsch was joined at the CFR by Kody Lamb and Pascal Isabelle, all firsttimers in the open event. Bertsch admits the pressure of the late season charge did carry a thrill factor. “It was fun, having that in the back of my head — knowing I had a shot, and that ‘I’ve got to make money’ because this could happen.” “Being able to make the CFR at 20 rodeos, at my stage, was a huge confidence booster. I had the same amount of rodeos as Jake Vold. Sure, I was coming in at twelfth hole. But being able to do that, and then getting to the Finals and riding all six – I was three points out of placing in the average — really was an eye-opener for me.” “This year, when I enter a rodeo, I go there knowing ‘I can do this, I can win, I belong here’. I’m a lot more prepared mentally. Being able to ride with those guys and to compete with them is an unreal experience. You idolize them and always look up to them, and want to ride like them and go where they go because they’ve made the NFR, they know how to rodeo as a business. But then again…” he pauses and grins. “When you go out and beat them, there’s no better feeling!” “I’ve told Jake Vold that too!” he adds, with a chuckle. “It always makes him laugh. I’ve asked Jake lots of advice and he’s always been good to me.” Bertsch has also benefited from the support of his family, especially his dad, Dan, who was a pro bareback rider in the early 1990s. “He’s proud, always excited. He blows up my phone every time I go to a rodeo. A couple of years ago, I would never have imagined myself being where I am today. Being able to believe that I am mentally and physically ready, it’s huge excitement for me too.” c Canadian Cowboy Country August/September 2017
PHOTO BY MIKE COPEMAN
Pro Rodeo Canada Insider
Duane Daines 2017 Saddle Bronc Series Thank you to our sponsors!
$1000 Innisfail Pro Rodeo $1000 Wainwright Stampede $1000 C5 Rodeo $1000 RAM Rodeo $1000 Wrangler Jeans $750 Teepee Creek Stampede $500 Dawson Creek Stampede $500 Grande Prairie Stompede $500 Field of Dreams Stampede $500 Strathmore Heritage Rodeo $500 Sundre Pro Rodeo $500 Ponoka Stampede $400 Jasper Heritage Rodeo $300 – 20 other Canadian Pro Rodeos • Ross Contway Bronze for the Champion Bronc Rider donated by Pidherneys of Rocky Mountain House • Champion Olson Buckle donated by the Daines Ranch Rodeo
All the money goes to the Cowboys! Anyone wishing to donate please make your cheque out to Duane Daines Saddle Bronc Series c/o CPRA 272245 R.R. 2, Airdrie, AB T4A 2L5
Ranch Country Horse Sale Inc.
Join us to celebrate the 2017 Inductees:
Denny Hay ~ Glen Keeley Billy Laye ~ Rayel Little ~ Bill Pimm Vold Rodeo’s B6 Little Six
& Ranchman’s Legendary Achievement
Painting by Gena LaCoste
Lester Gurnett
Perrin • Parsonage • Bertram
TICKETS - $80/EACH
13th Annual
To purchase tickets, please call Tana Hooper at 403-512-4724 or email morthnwd@telus.net Room discount for Rodeo HOF: Call 1-800-661-1464 before Oct 1 (Visa & Mastercard accepted) LIMITED # OF SPONSOR TABLES - Call Catherine at 403-261-0117
Production Sale & Sale of Consigned Broke Saddle Horses
Third Annual POKER TOURNAMENT Friday, Oct 20 - proceeds to benefit the Hall of Fame
“A great selection of ranch, rope, pleasure, and kids’ horses. Wellstarted young horses, yearlings and weanlings – performance prospects with some of the best bloodlines in the business”.
Pre-registration only email: claycraft@calgarystampede.com $100 entry fee and $50 re-buy. Champion Buckle to the winner.
PLEASE COME AND CELEBRATE THE INDUCTEES & LEGENDS OF 2017! Web: www.canadianprorodeohalloffame.com Ph: 403-236-8511
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SEPTEMBER 9, 2017 AT 1 PM MST Drill Hall, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan
SALE PREVIEW Saturday, September 9, 2017 at 9:30 am Rodeo Grounds, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan FOR CATALOGUES OR INFO CONTACT: Lou Parsonage 306-299-4474 or Ken Perrin 306-662-3730 Online catalogues: www.northernhorse.com/ranchcountry 49
Pro Rodeo Canada Insider RODEO RESULTS
CPRA STANDINGS TOP TEN AS OF JULY 6 BAREBACK Rank Name 1 Vold Jake 2 Champion Richmond 3 Marshall Ky 4 Vezain JR 5 Hardwick Seth 6 Larsen Orin 7 Bennett Caleb 8 Isabelle Pascal 9 Solberg Michael 10 Bertsch Dantan
SADDLE BRONC City Airdrie Dublin Bowden Cowley Ranchester Inglis Tremonton Okotoks Sunnynook Eastend
Province AB TX AB WY WY MB UT AB AB SK
Earnings $27,362.49 $21,855.46 $15,370.38 $15,258.45 $14,779.74 $7,275.79 $6,377.79 $6,120.74 $5,494.73 $5,166.90
Rank Name 1 Green Layton 2 Thurston Zeke 3 Kelts Sam 4 Elliott Clay 5 Cust Lane 6 Muncy Taos 7 Watson Jake 8 Crawley Jacobs 9 Hausauer Dusty 10 Larsen Tyrel
City Cochrane Provost Benton Lethbridge Mayerthorpe Vanscoy Calgary Quesnel Holliday Didsbury
Province AB AB AR AB AB SK AB BC TX AB
Earnings $25,306.79 $18,733.04 $14,474.91 $14,347.41 $11,606.09 $1,186.92 $11,388.07 $9,002.48 $8,971.78 $8,054.69
Rank Name 1 Schaffer Jason 2 Warren Riley 3 Bird Logan 4 Richard Rhen 5 Bouchard Alwin 6 Dublanko Erik 7 Durfey Tyson 8 Vest Stetson 9 Popescul Jesse 10 Edge Dean
Rank Name City Province 1 Simpson Levi Ponoka AB 2 McCarroll Justin Camrose AB 3 Roy Riley Strathmore AB 4 Sherwood Matt Pima AZ 5 McFadden Roland Vulcan AB 6 Gallais Trey Sundre AB 7 Richard Rhen Roosevelt UT 8 Schmidt Kolton Barrhead AB 9 Minor Riley Ellensburg WA 10 Ullery Clay Two Hills AB
Earnings $15,975.18 $11,508.44 $11,492.19 $9,785.81 $9,031.28 $8,180.96 $8,123.08 $7,483.50 $7,101.14 $6,897.10
Rank Name 1 Smith Garrett 2 Hansen Jordan 3 Green Garrett 4 Radford Brock 5 Finkbeiner Wacey 6 Schiffner Scott 7 Frost Joe 8 Pankewitz Tyler 9 Lambert Zane 10 Gloria Marcos
Rank Name 1 Buhler Jeremy 2 McCarroll Brett 3 Chapel Brady 4 Woodard Walt 5 Skelton Rich 6 Wigemyr Devin 7 Roy Kasper 8 Kelly Dugan 9 Minor Brady 10 Wilson Riley
Earnings $15,975.18 $11,508.44 $12,262.41 $9,785.81 $8,123.08 $7,798.88 $7,649.27 $7,483.50 $7,101.14 $6,897.10
STEER WRESTLING Rank Name 1 Milan Tanner 2 Guenthner Scott 3 Thomas Jason 4 Woodward Todd 5 Reay Travis 6 Walker Dustin 7 Cole Harley 8 Nicholson Dustin 9 Cure Hunter 10 Grant Morgan
City Meeting Creek Big Valley Stavely Nanton Sylvan Lake Corona Hudsons Hope Bourne Dickinson Inglis
Province AB AB AB AB AB NM BC TX ND MB
Earnings $31,006.40 $20,381.27 $12,235.72 $11,040.52 $9,999.63 $9,980.66 $8,733.24 $8,694.49 $8,080.39 $6,382.37
City Broadus Stettler Nanton Roosevelt Scandia Thorsby Weatherford Childress Glentworth Rimbey
Province MT AB AB UT AB AB TX TX SK AB
Earnings $15,141.22 $12,978.77 $12,097.92 $11,357.70 $11,328.57 $10,482.21 $10,399.95 $9,630.51 $9,203.48 $8,897.20
City Rexburg Calgary Meeting Creek Dewinton Ponoka Strathmore Randlett Ponoka Ponoka Edmonton
Province ID AB AB AB AB AB UT AB AB AB
Earnings $25,065.14 $21,303.54 $18,026.36 $16,997.44 $13,424.47 $12,599.56 $12,084.66 $10,952.99 $10,673.78 $8,470.82
Hometown Aldergrove Brooks Big Valley Hermiston Edson Bulverde Hereford Abilene Fortworth Red Deer County
Province BC AB AB OR AB TX TX TX TX AB
Earnings $20,229.62 $14,429.67 $13,454.02 $11,594.65 $11,518.48 $11,507.94 $11,444.87 $10,610.53 $9,269.33 $8,635.93
TIE DOWN ROPING
TEAM ROPING (HEADERS)
BULL RIDING
TEAM ROPING (HEELERS)
City Arrowwood Camrose Moose Jaw Stephenville Llano Brooks Mossleigh Paso Robles Ellensburg Cardston
Province AB AB SK TX TX AB AB CA WA AB
BARREL RACING Place Name 1 Pozzobon Carman 2 Brodoway Lynette 3 White Kirsty 4 Crossley Callahan 5 Manning Taylor 6 Hinton Jaime 7 Collier Kellie 8 Ganter Jackie 9 Murray Tillar 10 Daines Sydney
Canadian Cowboy Country makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information it publishes, but cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from errors or omissions.
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Canadian Cowboy Country August/September 2017
A REPUTATION FOR DURABILITY IS SOMETHING YOU EARN.
CANADA’S LONGEST-LASTING LINE OF PICKUPS †
[ Proud Sponsor of Canadian rodeo for over 35 years \ †Longevity based on IHS Automotive: Polk Canadian Vehicles In Operation data as of July 1, 2016, for model years 1988-2016 for the entire Ram large pickup segment compared to all competitive large pickups that have been on the road since 1988.
Grab your trip by the horns and make it a vacation. Combine your Book Early & Save discount with Your Rate to get up to 20% off—it’s our lowest rate, exclusively for IHG® Rewards Club members who book direct. Visit IHG.com/SAVE20CA to book and for details.
IHG® is proud to be the Official Hotel Group of the CPRA.
*IHG® Rewards Club not applicable to Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants; to be included at a future date. © 2017 InterContinental Hotels Group. All Rights Reserved. Most hotels are independently owned and/or operated.
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Pro Rodeo Canada Insider ROAD TO THE CFR
BRETT MONEA THE LONG ROAD BACK By TIM ELLIS
F
OR THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME, BULLFIGHTER, BRETT MONEA HAD A CHANCE TO SPEND A SUMMER AT HOME WITH HIS FAMILY. AND DON’T
GET HIM WRONG, HE ENJOYED IT. BUT THERE COMES A TIME…
“About a week in,” jokes Monea, when asked when he had enough of staying at home instead of being on the rodeo trail. “I said to myself ‘I gotta get back’.” The time spent at home was necessary after the 33-year-old was stomped on by a bull called Big Rig at a bull riding event in Calgary in June of 2016. “I moved in to protect Ty Pozzobon after his dismount,” recalls Monea. “He brought me down and stepped on me. I knew right away something was wrong.” “I went to the hospital and they confirmed I had broken my right leg. It was a clean break but I couldn’t put any weight on it for about eight weeks.” 52
The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time. “It was going to be my first time working the Innisfail Rodeo,” begins the Wetaskiwin cowboy. “And I was going to get to work nine or ten performances at the Calgary Stampede. It was heartbreaking.” “I didn’t even watch the Stampede. I read a lot of books during those 10 days. I thought I’d be back by Strathmore (in early August) but that definitely did not happen.” In fact, the comeback wasn’t complete until a month later when Monea walked back into the arena at the Pro Rodeo Canada Tour Finals in Armstrong, B.C. “I’ve had three knee surgeries and I can tell you coming back from a broken leg is way harder,” offers Monea, who’s been fighting bulls at one level or another since 2001. “I had to gain all the muscle back and learn to walk all over again. But thanks to my family, sports medicine, and the Edmonton Cowboys Benevolent Fund, I got through it.” “I was really nervous before coming back at Armstrong. Not for myself, but for those cowboys. I was thinking ‘what if I’m not ready to be in position to protect them’. That would have been a tough pill to swallow if I was the one to put them in danger.” The nerves, however, were gone after the first bull out. And Monea’s return to action was so successful, he was voted to work the Canadian Finals Rodeo for the fourth consecutive year. “It was awesome to know the bull riders had the confidence to do that,” offers Monea. “The CFR is what a young bullfighter strives for. It makes all the hard work, the knee injuries and the broken bones worth it when you know they have the trust in you to protect them at the largest venue in Canada.” And if he’s gained that trust for a fifth straight year come November, Monea will come to Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton with a new outlook. “That injury taught me to live in the moment and don’t take any rodeo for granted.” c
Canadian Cowboy Country August/September 2017
PHOTO BY MIKE COPEMAN
Brett Monea taking a hit as Lonnie West scrambles to his feet after scoring 87.5 points on Outlaw Buckers Bombshell in the first round of the 2016 Canadian Finals Rodeo
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CFR2016-01-Front.indd 1
2016-10-24 2:57 PM
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Ranch Horse & Bloodstock Sales – November 10 Applications at farmfairinternational.com Deadline: October 3, 2017 Contact agriculture@northlands.com or 780.471.7300 for more information
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Canadian Cowboy Country August/September 2017