The PRCA recently announced the Rookie of the Year awards, and two of the winners are homegrown Canadians from well-known rodeo families.
Congratulations to Brendan Laye, who is the 2018 Steer Wrestling Rookie of the Year with $30,767. Although the 28-year-old cowboy is new to the PRCA scene, this Consort, Alta., steer wrestler competed for several years in the Great White North.
“To finally go down there and have some success is a pretty cool experience for me,” Laye said.
Congratulations as well to Dawson Hay, who is the 2018 Saddle Bronc Riding Rookie of the Year. The 20-year-old Wildwood, Alta., cowboy won $39,605.
“It means a lot for sure because that was definitely my goal because my dad (Rod Hay) was the Rookie of the Year in 1989,” Hay said.
A PRCA rookie is a cowboy competing in his first year as a full member of the organization. (Cowboys first join under the PRCA’s permit system, which allows them to compete for some time without becoming full-fledged members. Once a cowboy has “filled his permit” by winning $1,000 at PRCA sanctioned rodeos, he can apply to become a full member and is considered a rookie for the remainder of that season.) The PRCA’s Resistol Rookies of the Year are the first-season cowboys who earn the most money in their events during that season.
Both Laye and Hay will be competing at the Canadian Finals Rodeo Oct 30-Nov 4 in Red Deer, Alta.