WESTERNER PARK, RED DEER, Alberta

Standings Races Tighten

August 23, 2022 | Airdrie, AB | Standings Races Tighten

t’s that time of year.

As the 2022 Canadian Professional Rodeo Association season moves into the final weeks, every ride and run is packed with drama as athletes jockey for coveted berths at the Canadian Finals Rodeo and, in a number of cases, the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. With just over a month remaining in the regular season, a weekend featuring three Maple Leaf Circuit events saw several competitors from both sides of the 49thparallel make critical advances toward securing a date at Red Deer’s CFR slated for November 2 to 6th.

Three-time Canadian High Point Champion, Morgan Grant, made a big move in the tie down roping standings with wins at both the Pincher Creek Pro Rodeo (8.2 seconds, $1989) and the Cranbrook Pro Rodeo (8.3, $1908). The Didsbury, Alberta two-event hand also placed in steer wrestling at Pincher Creek to add $240 to an already productive weekend. A nine-time CFR qualifier, Grant entered the weekend’s action in 11thplace in the TDR standings but will be solidly in the top ten with this week’s standings update. 

Saddle bronc rider, Hunter Sawley, extended his lead in the Maple Leaf Circuit standings with a two-win weekend of his own. The Fox Creek, AB cowboy rode Outlaw Buckers’ City Fire to 85 points and the Pincher Creek triumph worth $1161, and he added a 1/2 split (with Brodie Roessler) at Cranbrook, navigating Vold Rodeo’s Treaty Money to a $1008 payday. Sawley’s Maple Leaf Circuit earnings will top the $10,000 plateau with the two wins. The third-year pro also solidified his hold on a CFR berth as he continued a hot streak that began with a win at the Medicine Hat Stampede.

Two-time Canadian steer wrestling champion, Scott Guenthner, consolidated his grip on top spot in the Canadian standings as he bested the field at the newly minted West of the Fifth Pro Rodeo in Buck Lake, Alberta with a 5.2 second run for a $920 payday, then split ½ (with Ty Miller) at Cranbrook, dogging his steer in a lightning-fast 3.6 seconds for a $1434 cheque. 

Bareback rider, Caleb Bennett, reached his required rodeo count to qualify for another trip to the CFR and did it with an impressive ½ split at Pincher Creek, alongside travelling partner, Leighton Berry. Bennett teamed up with Outlaw Buckers’ Blue Wings for 86 points and $1026. The Pincher Creek success was part of a huge week for the popular Montana hand as he collected wins at Gooding, ID ($4371), Billings, MT ($2123) and Kalispell, MT ($2394) and a second-place finish at Baker, MT ($3108) for almost $13,000 over that period to put him solidly in 3rd place in the Canadian standings and 4thon the world stage.

Staying south of the 49thparallel, a couple of Canadian bronc riders, Dawson Hay and Zeke Thurston, both put up arena record-tying 91-point rides at the famed Caldwell (Idaho) Night Rodeo, enabling them to finish first and second overall. Hay topped out at $7075 for the win with the two-time World Champion, Thurston, collecting $4412 for his second place finish.

For complete unofficial results, head over to rodeocanada.com

This week’s CPRA slate will feature the BVX CPRA Bareback Event in Smithers, B.C. Aug 25, Lethbridge Pro Rodeo Aug 25-27 (an SMS Equipment Pro Tour stop) and two more Maple Leaf Circuit events: Okotoks Pro Rodeo (Millarville) Aug 26-28 and the Harvest Roundup in Taber, AB Aug 27-28.

The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) with headquarters in Airdrie, Alberta is the official sanctioning body for Professional Rodeo in Canada. The CPRA approves 55 events annually with a total payout exceeding $5.7 million. The organization oversees the SMS Equipment Pro Tour Finals each fall in Armstrong, BC, holds their premiere event – the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) – at Westerner Park in Red Deer, AB in early November and endorses the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals as part of Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, SK. Follow the CPRA on Twitter and Instagram @prorodeocanada, ‘Like’ Canadian Professional Rodeo Association on Facebook or online at RodeoCanada.com.

For more information:

Barb Poulsen
CPRA Communications and Media
Phone: 403 625-2797
Mobile: 403 625-9225
Email: media@rodeocanada.com

For a full 2022 CPRA event schedule, go to rodeocanada.com.

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