The moon was bright, the stars were twinkling and it was an almost-full house at the Centrium in Red Deer as the cream of the crop of rodeo fans gathered for Round Three of the Canadian Finals Rodeo.
There were two major crownings in the air — and the first was the freshly-crowned 2022 Miss Rodeo Canada Jayden Calvert of Drayton Valley. The 22-year-old, representing Sundre Pro Rodeo, is a graduate of U of A.
It is with mixed feelings I say adios to Alicia Erickson, who reinvented the role of Miss Rodeo Canada in her two-year reign. Good luck to you, my friend.
The second crowning event was two-fold, and congratulations to all! It was Brodie Roessler of Fairview, Alta., who was declared the 2021 Novice Saddle Bronc Champion. Cruz McNulty of Biggar, Sask., earned the title of Novice Bareback Champion. There was some outstanding riding in Novice Bareback where Cruz earned an 80.75 on Macza’s 213 Alberta Wildcat, and in Jr Steer Riding, Noah Calf Robe earned 81.75 and Grady Young scored 82 pts. I have seen the future of rodeo, and it is bright.
In Barrel Racing it was transplanted Texan Shelby Spielman, who won the night with a 14.087-sec run.
In Bareback, Dantan Bertsch of Tompkins, Sask., made an electrifying ride on C5 Rodeo’s flashy 601 Black Feathers to win the round with 88.75-pts.
Steer Wrestling saw Justin Miller of Virden, Man., swing into the saddle of superstar Tyson to win the round with a slamming time of 3.7-sec.
Team Roping saw the dynamic duo of Dillon Graham and Dawson Graham win the round with a 3.9-sec. run. The brothers are from Wainwright and came into the CFR as the season leaders.
In Saddle Bronc, the classic event, Kole Ashbacher of Arrowwood, Alta., earned every jump on Calgary’s W-16 Wild Cherry, scoring 88.5-pts. Wild Cherry was named the Saddle Bronc of the Year and has previously won the Bronc of the CFR on three different occasions. Tonight the saddle broncs were the “TV pen,” and to give you an idea of what you (and I) missed by not seeing it live, seven of the scores were in the 80s — and they were well-earned!
Tie-Down Roping saw Riley Warren of Sundre take home the big cheque with his fast tie of 8.0-sec.
And in Bull Riding, it was a Mexican fiesta again as reigning Canadian Champion, Edgar Durazo, brought the screaming crowd to its feet with his exciting 92.25-pt ride on Vold’s 427 Up Shift.
Tomorrow you get TWO rounds of fantastic CFR action! Sat, Nov 6 – perf begins at noon. Sat night, perf begins at 6 pm. And Championship Sunday is a matinee, starting at noon. Go to CFRRedDeer.ca to buy tickets.
As promised, here are the Daysheets that outlines everything you need to know about every competitor in the 2021 CFR. 2021-Results-Performance-3
Be sure to purchase the highly-collectable 2021 CFR Souvenir Program!