STONEY LAKE - A bright and sunny July 5 brought out “the best attendance ever" at the 61st Stoney Lake Rodeo. And, "every seat was filled,” according to Kevin Wirsta, adding that, “there was not room for one more vehicle on the grounds” for the evening performance.
Sunday’s rain didn’t slow down the action, with a long lineup of competitors in the morning slack still heading out as the afternoon’s audience arrived in the midst of what proved to be the final shower until the Stoneboat Race windup.
A few drops were still pattering down as the well practiced Stoney Lake Riders delighted the fans with their performance, before the day’s lone Bareback Rider Matthew Erasmus went down to defeat by War Wolf. He would give it another try later in the afternoon, but it was Colton Stark in Saturday’s run on Little Black that took home the win with a score of 72.
Just one of Sunday’s Novice Saddle Bronc riders made it to the eight-second mark, by Brayden Snith’s 68-point ride on Bar Rocket edged out Saturday’s leader Chet Merton by a single point for the win.
Tie-Down Roping was hit and miss – as in seven misses and three longer times – before Bryce Kulbacki, the last man to go, got the job done in 9.1 seconds to move Cody Brett, with an even 10 seconds in the slack, down to second place.
The reverse was true in the Junior Steer Riding, where Jayden Payne, with 64.5 and Jinks Cooper, with 63 points were unable to outscore Blaze Torkelson with Saturday’s top mark of 65.5.
Sunday’s Ladies Breakaway Roping saw not one but three competitors leave Saturday’s top time of 2.9in the dust, with Hadley Schiffner and Rebekah Erickson each getting the job done in 2.6 seconds, and Maysa Schiffner in 2.8 seconds. The Junior version saw a pair of 3.0 runs on Saturday, but Sunday’s 3.4-second runs from season leader Ally Pocock and Owen Grykuliak unfortunately didn’t match up.
The weekend top Saddle Bronc action saw Samuel Flaherty take a ride on a Hot Rocket for 76 points.
The two best Steer Wrestling runs also came on Sunday, with Jace Powell getting the job done in 4.5 seconds and Blair Whitfield close behind with 4.9 seconds, to move Saturday’s top time of 5.2 down to third spot.
Saturday, however, saw the fastest run in the Ladies’ Barrels with Katie Haberle stopping the clock at 15.938, although Tea Hataley came very close on Sunday with a 15.981. The top Junior Barrels time was recorded by Maggie Cartwright with a 16.090 and Sunday’s top Peewee Barrels by Taydee-May Bezjack with 15.369.
The weekend’s best Team Roping came in the slack, with Koby Zimmer and Kody Potts tying one up in 4.7 seconds.
Sunday’s Bull Riding score was Bulls 9, Cowboys 1, with that 79-point ride coming from Jack Collins on Bad Habits, coming close to Saturday’s 80-point ride by Wyatt Wiancho.
Along with the rodeo itself, Sunday’s program included a long lineup of Mutton Busting enthusiasts, a Wild Pony Race won by the Gitty-Up Gang and a record number of contestants vying for Best Dressed Cowboy and Cowgirl. However, only one team, the McDowell’s, tried their hands at the Stoneboat Race, with limited success against a bad-tempered and uncooperative cow.
