AIRDRIE, AB – The last two regular season rodeos of 2010 recently came to an end, and the impact from the results of each will help determine who will compete at the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) in Edmonton, Alta.
Logan Hodson of Telkwa, B.C. and Clayton Bunney of Cessford, Alta. rode it out to determine which bareback rider would appear on the CFR program this November.
Bunney picked up a first place cheque worth $564 in McCord, Sask., and another $129 in Hanna, Alta., raising his season earnings from $7,798 to $8,491. However, Hodson’s third place cheque of $212 at the 35th annual McCord Indoor Rodeo was enough to keep the cowboy ahead. He wrapped up the regular season with $8,526 and a ticket to Edmonton.
Dickinson, N.D. saddle bronc rider and 2008 Canadian champion Dusty Hausauer spurred is way into first place at McCord on Big Stone Rodeo\’s Blueberry. The win earned him $658, inching him past Athena, Ore.\’s Ben Londo to finish in the 13th hole, just out of a qualifying spot at the Finals.
In the bull riding, Brett Thompson of Medicine Hat, Alta. was 13th going in and 13th coming out. The reigning champion will not be returning to CFR this year, but certainly made a valiant effort. He placed first on Girletz Rodeo’s Bush Hog with an 85.5, finishing his season with $1,048 for the win and an additional $150 in day money.
Jake Hannum upset the tie-down roping standings when he placed first in 7 seconds flat at McCord. The Utah-based roper earned $950, moving him from 11th to 10th, jumping ahead of fellow American Clif Cooper in the standings. As a result, Hannum takes the fifth and final spot for a non-Canadian finalist in that event, leaving Cooper and Idaho’s Nate Baldwin outside the competition at CFR, and allowing Rimbey, Alta.’s Dean Edge his sixth trip to Edmonton and a crack at a Canadian tie-down roping championship. Edge won $581 for an 8.5-second run at Hanna, good enough for fourth at the three-day rodeo.
The biggest shift over the weekend occurred in the steer wrestling, with Jessie Heggie locking in a second place 4.4-second run at McCord, worth $712 to the Redmond, Alta.’s regular season earnings. JD Hays, of Rocky Mountain House, Alta., placed at both Hanna and McCord for combined earnings of $1,382, shifting him from 11th place to 9th. Heading in, Heggie was sitting 13th and just outside a spot at the Finals. His winnings pushed him up into the 11th place position in the steer wrestling standings, bumping Lethbridge, Alta.’s Todd Woodward to 12th place, and Eckville, Alta.’s Scott Wyzykoski into the crying hole.
Sherrylynn Johnson from Henryetta, OK nudged Drayton Valley, Alta. rookie Ramona Nash out of the last vacancy at the Finals in the ladies barrel racing. This will be the three-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier’s first trip to CFR.
In the team roping, a number of cowboys shifted around in the standings, although none of them were bumped out of the top-12. Justin and Brett McCarroll won at Hanna with a 4.9-second run, worth $1,746, while Randy Smith and Rocky Ross teamed up at McCord for a first place run of 5.4-seconds, splitting a cheque for $978.
Jake Brown of Eckville, Alta. won $287 in the novice saddle bronc riding at Hanna and remained in fifth in place. Novice bareback season leader Cole Goodine from Carbon, Alta. held his position and raised his season earnings to $5,514 after earning an additional $272 at Hanna. Cadogan, Alta.’s Bryce West placed first in the steer riding in Hanna, adding $339 to his regular season total.
Neither Steven Turner of Cochrane, Alta. or Donalda, Alta.’s Curtis Cassidy in Hanna or McCord; still, Turner continues to lead the All-Around race. He’s heading to CFR in both the steer wrestling and bull riding. This is his first time qualifying for the Finals in the steer wrestling and the first time he’s made the Finals competing in two events. He is just behind Cassidy, in the High Point standings. Cassidy will be making his 11th appearance at the CFR in the tie-down roping, and his 12th in the steer wrestling.
Please visit RodeoCanada.com for more detailed results.
~ Courtesy the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association.