A familiar name is showing up with some regularity on Canadian Professional Rodeo Association leaderboards.
Kendal Pierson won the first two CPRA breakaway roping championships ever awarded. The Wardlow, Alberta cowgirl captured the inaugural title in 2021 (the same year she was the World High School Champion), then followed that up with a second Canadian buckle in 2022 before going on to qualify for the NFR Breakaway Roping Finals the following two years. Pierson makes it clear that in 2026 she has her sights set on being at both Finals once again.
The Wardlow talent took a big step toward the northern half of that goal on the weekend as she and her super-handy grey, ‘Ghost’ put together a speedy 2.2 second run for the win at the 106th edition of the Falkland Stampede. The win earned her $2156 and comes on the heels of a solid second-place finish at the recently completed Kananaskis Pro Rodeo. The spring successes should move Pierson into the top five in the early Canadian season and to the lead in the Precision Rodeo Series (which kicked off at Falkland).
“I’m definitely going to try to get it taken care of and make the CFR a priority even though I’ll be going back and forth again this year,” she acknowledged. “This winter wasn’t the greatest I’ve ever had but I’ve been working on some things. Coming back up to Canada and having some success has been good; I’m just going to go with that momentum and try to keep it going from there.”
She’s hoping that dynamic will remain in effect this coming weekend as she points her rig at the first two 2026 CPRA Pro tour events in Red Deer and Buffalo Lake.
And momentum might just be the perfect descriptor for three-time Kenny McLean Award winner, Kyle Wanchuk, as he too has had the hot hand in recent weeks. Coming off a solid effort at the Lakeland Xtreme Broncs event in Cold Lake that saw him taking 4th place in the average to move into the critical top twelve in the Canadian bronc riding standings, the Stettler cowboy was even better at Falkland as he rode Macza Pro Rodeo’s 020 Snyder Special to 86.5 points to split top honours (with Tyrel Roberts). Both men took home $1544 for their efforts. The BC win will help Wanchuk continue his climb up the ladder in the ultra-competitive Canadian bronc riding battleground in pursuit of one of those elusive CFR berths come season’s end.
Complete unofficial results are available at rodeocanada.com
This coming weekend will see CPRA action at a couple of Pro Tour stops—the returning Red Deer Pro Rodeo May 21-23 and the Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement Pro Rodeo May 22-24.
Photo: Kendal Pierson and Smoke, Falkland Stampede photo by Gralyn Boyd
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About CPRA
The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) with headquarters in Airdrie, Alta. is the official sanctioning body for Professional Rodeo in Canada. The CPRA approves 60+ events annually with a total payout just shy of $8 million. The organization oversees the CPRA Pro Tour Finale September 2-5 in Armstrong, BC, holds their premiere event–the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) at Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB October 7-10 and endorses the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals November 25-28 as part of Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, SK. For details, please see RodeoCanada.com
For more information:
Barb Poulsen
CPRA Communications and Media
Phone: 403 625-9225
Email: media@rodeocanada.com