Pivotal Round Three Sets Stage for CFR Finale
As the Canadian Finals Rodeo is heading into the home stretch and its final two performances on Super Saturday, the plot, as they say, has thickened. With several races going down to the wire, none is more intriguing than the logjam that is the top of the leaderboard in the tie-down roping.
A couple of Alberta cowboys, Kyle Lucas of Carstairs and Beau Cooper of Stettler turned in the fastest runs of the week to date with identical 7.6 second times. And both are very much in contention heading into those final two rounds on Saturday. Souris, Manitoba roper Stran Dunham remains in the driver’s seat, albeit somewhat precariously, with a slender $7000 lead over the second place man, Cooper–$54,137 to $47,501 with Lucas lurking just $2000 back of Cooper in third place.
“All three rounds have been good rounds with really good roping,” Cooper noted. “It’s all been pretty tight and everybody’s roping good. I’ve been trying to do my job and dance with the one that brought me. I’m riding Putter; he’s eight year-old. I rode him last year here.”
Cooper a former NFR qualifier, commented on his good friend’s first NFR appearance. “Kyle’s been working at it for twelve years and finally got his NFR qualification. It took me only three years. It doesn’t seem very fair. I think he’s doing the right thing. He’s getting on a good horse in Vegas. I felt like when I got there I was little under horse-powered. But hey, at the end of the day, it’s what I do, not who I am.”
Lucas spoke of what goes into making the Finals in Edmonton and Las Vegas. “I think we do so much preparation beforehand. We get here and we can just go have some fun. I think the hardest thing is to let go and trust your preparation and your training. We practice hard, we prepare hard and make our own luck.”
And the second generation roper lavished praise on his horse. “I’m riding Bunny (Lola) here at the CFR. Tim Bagnell let me take that horse and that’s kind of his baby. I’m just very fortunate to get to take her. I don’t think I would have made the NFR or the CFR if it wasn’t for Tim.”
Another race that is very much up in the air is the bull riding where two time champion, Jared Parsonage, has taken control by virtue of his perfect three for three performance in the first three rounds. The Maple Creek cowboy is the only bull rider to get by all three of his bulls to date and has grabbed the lead by just a couple of thousand dollars over season leader Jake Gardiner. Parsonage who had to sit out the 2024 CFR due to an injury is back with a vengeance and has amassed $56,420 to Gardiner’s $52,820. Both men got by their bulls on Friday night, Parsonage capturing second place with his 87.5 point ride on the Outlaw Buckers four-legged superstar Trailer Trash and Gardiner earning a fifth place cheque with his 84.25 mark on the Vold bull 81 Red Rust. Heading to Sunday, Parsonage also leads the aggregate with 256.75 0n three with Gardiner next at 172.5 on 2.
Two Champions were declared at the close of the third performance: Novice Saddle Bronc winner, Clay Greenslade and Novice Bareback titlist, Quaide Skjonsberg. Congratulations!
Additional Round 3 Winners Were:
Bareback: Dantan Bertsch, 86.75 points on Calgary Stampede’s D-78 Debt So Long
Steer wrestling: Scott Guenthner, 3.6 seconds (third consecutive round win)
Breakaway roping: Caitlyn Dahm, 1.9 secs (equalled her fastest run this year, Sundre Pro Rodeo)
Saddle bronc: Ben Andersen, 88 points on Big Stone Rodeo’s 26 Gone Fishing
Barrel racing: Pamela Morrison, 13.84 secs (First ever CFR round win)
Team roping: Kash Bonnett/Logan Cullen, 4.5 seconds (second consecutive round win)
Bull riding: Grady Young, 88.25 points on Calgary Stampede’s 609 Tactical Error
Novice bareback: Quaide Skjonsberg, 84 pts on Outlaw Buckers’A116 Blue Moon
Novice saddle bronc: Clay Greenslade, 79.75 pts on Duane Kesler’s 446 Chucky
Jr steer riding: Dayton Cronkhite, 79.75 pts
For complete results, visit rodeocanada.com
CFR 51 Rounds four and five get underway at 11:00 am and 6:30 pm (MT) – Rogers Place, Edmonton, AB
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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 exceeding $7.4 million. The organization oversees the SMS Equipment Pro Tour Finale each fall in Armstrong, BC, holds their premiere event–the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR)–at Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB in early October and endorses the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals 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