By Dianne Finstad
Champions don’t let rainy days deter them.
That was certainly evident during the June 27 performance of the Ponoka Stampede.
The afternoon started with just a drizzle, which eventually turned into a downpour. However, that didn’t dampen the desire of some veteran competitors to qualify for the July first Finals, which features the top 12 finishers in each of the major events at the richest rodeo of the busy Cowboy Christmas run.
Twice Texans Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira have earned the team roping world gold buckles together.
This year, they hope to put some Ponoka cash towards that effort.
They set themselves up for that well, by roping their first steer in 6.4, and then even in the moisture and mud, speeded things up and were 5.4 in the afternoon.
Their 11.8 second total on two puts them in second place for the average, behind the 11.4 from Trey Yates and Jake Clay.
Canadian champion tie-down roper Haven Meged took care of business in the third Ponoka performance.
He built on a morning 8.4 second run by following it up in the afternoon with an 8.5, to take over the lead in the event.
“I had a good calf,” says Meged.
“I knew she ran hard but I was good in the first round, so I knew I had to go do my job and make sure I get her tied down. We were going pretty fast when I got off and there were a lot of moving parts, and it all worked out, thank God.
“This is my favourite rodeo, it’s always been my favourite, since my rookie year getting to come here. I always look forward to it.
“We drove all night from Greeley, Colorado and we got here at 5 a.m. It was a long drive, but it was worth it. Now we’re driving all night to Williams Lake, B.C.”
Meged is grateful to the Stampede committee and sponsors for the bump up in the purse this year and looks forward to the impact a cheque from here could have on his season.
“This is going to help me make the Canadian Finals. My season up here hasn’t been very good. Hopefully, we finish up here Monday night and win this sucker. It’s eluded me twice.”
In fact, last year Meged and local favourite Beau Cooper looked like they were headed for a rope-off in the Showdown round until Ty Harris bettered them both by a tenth of a second.
Bareback rider Weston Timberman is making a seamless transition from the college ranks to the pros, and the Montana cowboy put himself in contention for the Ponoka Finals with an 86-point ride on Duane Kesler’s Sleeping Giant horse, to tie for second place.
Timberman, whose Uncle Kelly is a world champion, and whose father Chris was also a bareback rider, was tickled to be at his first Ponoka Stampede.
“I remember when I was a kid my uncle would always say rodeo-ing in the States is cool, but if you want to really be a bareback rider and test yourself, you go to rodeos like Ponoka. Ever since then, I’ve been super excited to finally get my chance to come here, and it’s going pretty good so far,” grins the Montana man, who just picked up his second National College championship and is leading the World Rookie bareback standings.
While steer wrestlers again had their challenges, Landon Beardsworth got his down in the fastest time to date of this year’s rodeo, at 4.7 seconds.
“The steer had a good track record and I just knew I had to stay behind the barrier and everything else was going to work out if I just did my job,” says Beardsworth.
The cowboy from Red Deer County was on Canadian Champion Scott Guenthner’s horse, and the two didn’t get in sync on the first steer, so Beardsworth is not factoring into the average.
“I just wanted to get some go-round money in the second round, and carry on some momentum for the rest of the ones this week.”
Idaho’s Jordan Spears was making his first Ponoka appearance in bull riding, where he marked 83.75, to take over fourth place.
“It probably distracts you a little more, being in the rain like this, because you’re not thinking as much about riding the bull. You’re more so just trying to stay dry. It kind of simplifies it. You’ve got to smile and make the best of it. They always say at the end of every rainstorm is a rainbow, so you’ve just got to keep your head down and keep working through good and bad weather, and that’s a part of it,” says Spears, a four-time NFR qualifier.
Cody Fraser remains the bull riding leader at 86.25. Zachary Dallas still has the top saddle bronc riding mark. James Perrin of Maple Creek, SK was best of Thursday’s performance with an 83.25, which is just barely among the top twelve qualifiers, with three more rounds remaining.
Orin Larsen is still the bareback riding leader with his 86.75, along with Emily Beisel in barrel racing with her 17.38, and Layne Delemont in steer wrestling at 12.5 seconds.
Ponoka News is your source for all things Ponoka Stampede leading up to and during Stampede Week June 25 to July 1. Find more Ponoka Stampede stories here and follow us at twitter.com/PonokaNews.