Races are tightening.
And with just six events remaining in the 2026 Canadian Professional Rodeo season, the pressure is mounting. While there were some moves by people outside the twelve CFR cutoff point, there were also significant efforts from those already in a qualifying spot and wanting to protect their territory. No one did that better than the team roping tandem of Tuftin McLeod and Braden Brost.
The duo entered the weekend in a precarious 10th place for header McLeod and 11th place for Brost on the back side. A 5.1 second win at Medicine Lodge Fall Roundup, combined with a second place finish at Pincher Creek Pro Rodeo and a third place result at Cranbrook Pro Rodeo gave the duo a $4,290 weekend haul and vaulted them comfortably into the top ten. McLeod, from Morse, Saskatchewan is a five-time finalist while Brost, who hails from Consul, Saskatchewan, is a Casper College rodeo team alumnus (Construction degree) seeking his second CFR qualification. The duo just missed getting to the CFR in 2025 and have their sights set on rectifying that situation.
“We hadn’t won a cheque since the Morris/Regina weekend; it was something like eleven rodeos where we didn’t win anything,” Brost acknowledged. “So on the way back from Dawson Creek, we kind of talked about some stuff and watched some old videos. We looked at what we thought we should change and worked on a few simple things. Then this weekend we pretty much made the same run three times and won three good cheques.“
The triple success couldn’t have come at a better time. “I think we’re going to have a really good finish to the season, coming off a low spell to a really good high. We should be able to just go roping these last three weeks, pressure off, and have fun.”
After being a ‘bubble guy’ the last two years, making the CFR in 2024 in 12th spot and missing out in both tie-down roping and team roping by mere hundreds of dollars in 2025, there’s a sense of relief. “I shouldn’t say we’re safe,” the heeler noted, “but it feels like the pressure’s off.“
Bronc rider Nicholas Patterson kept his CFR hopes alive with a split of first at Cranbrook courtesy of an 82 point ride on Big O Rodeo’s 940 Bender for $1,078 then added a third-place Pincher Creek performance to take home another $760. The twin successes will get the Rocky Mountain House cowboy with three CFR qualifications to his credit to within $10,000 of a top twelve sea son finish and the desired return to Rogers Place October 7-10.
Breakaway roper Aubrey Ross put together a second place 2.4 second run at the Pincher Creek Pro Rodeo to jump all the way from 14th at the start of the weekend’s three rodeo run to 10th place in the standings and a legitimate shot at a third trip to the CFR.
With the season moving into the final few frenetic weeks, fans can expect the drama and the tension to ramp up still more as the battles for Finals berths intensify still further.
This week will see CPRA athletes roll on into the Lethbridge Pro Rodeo for three action-packed performances August 20-22 and three more at the longstanding Okotoks Pro Rodeo August 21 23.
Follow the action through the weekend at RodeoCanada.com
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