Tonight, the CFR opened up with a salute to the horses (and bull) that carried them there.
They started with the rough stock, and as each name was called, their rep walked into the arena. Calgary Stampede’s Wild Cherry, Ward Macza’s great Stevie Knicks, and Vold Rodeo’s bull Timber Jam led the parade. Then they honoured the timed event horses; Grady Branden’s heading horse, Junior, Kash Bonnet’s heeling horse, Cruz, Curtis Cassidy’s great Tyson, Justine Elliott’s speedy Blondy and Logan Bird’s million-dollar Peso were among the horses honoured before an enthusiastic and appreciative crowd. All of these animals were voted as the Best of the Best by their peers.
And speaking of the crowd, there were a helluva lot more people there tonight – and last night’s crowd was impressive!
Now, onto the rodeo! Once again, the Big Showdown was led by the speed demons, and barrel racer Lisa Zachoda, who was on top of the ground, was never caught with her blistering 14.163-sec cloverleaf.
There were a couple of duds (in fairness, we’ve all had bad days) in the Bareback pen. As an old cowboy says, “I don’t know why they bother hauling re-ride horses if they’re not going to use them.” Regardless, the Draw Gods smiled on one of the classic riders, and Jake Vold took home the big cheque with his 87.75-pt ride on Big Stone’s 48 Fired Up.
Tonight seemed to be a great one for the first competitor out, and in Steer Wrestling, it was no different. Ty Miller from Wainwright dropped his steer in 4.8-secs.
The Novice events, especially Novice Saddle Bronc, had the nicest horses for beginners. The whole point of Novice is to encourage these kids, not scare ‘em off, and these three horses would be very welcome in any practice pen. For the second time in a row, the winner of tonight’s round was Brodie Roessler, who scored 76.75-pts on Kesler’s E13 Fox Hole.
Cruz McNulty won Novice Bareback with a 62.5-pt ride on Sawyer’s 437 Grey Cloud. And Junior Steer Riding saw some snaky bovines, and the one who got around his best was Nash Loewen with 67.25 pts.
Team Roping was fast, fast, fast, and for the second time, the Saskatchewan team of Brady Chappel and Tee McLeod won ‘er with a run of 4.1-sec.
The classic event, Saddle Bronc, saw a pen full of snaky, slant-eyed Eliminators that made mincemeat of some top riders — and believe me, there was no shame in getting beat by these buggers. Tonight’s round was won by 14X CFR Qualifier Sam Kelts, who earned a tough 86-pts on Calgary’s Z-37 Zoaria Hills.
Tie-Down Roping was won by Eric Dublanko in 8.1-sec’s in a super-squeaky tight race. Get this: the next three, Riley Warren, Clayton Smith and Logan Bird, were tied at 8.2-sec’s. It was CLOSE!
Bull Riding saw five rides tonight, so everyone that rode got a cheque because they pay to fifth place. Tonight’s winner was Nick Tetz of Calgary who earned 86.75-pts in a smashingly electric ride on Outlaw Buckers 52 Richie Bros Positively Bangin’.
Be sure to purchase the 2021 CFR Official Program. This program offers everything you need to know, past and present, about the stars of the Canadian Finals Rodeo, including every Canadian Champion. Collect some signatures from today’s competitors while you’re at it!
I just have to add that this is a terrific Finals!
Round Two Daysheets with everyone’s accumulated scores and monies, click here. 2021-Results-Performance-2