Ardmore's Lane Cust continued his dominance in Novice Saddle Bronc competitions earlier this month when he captures a Lakeland Rodeo Association (LRA) title in St. Paul.
Cust posted a score of 79.50, miles ahead of the second place ride of 73.50, to capture the LRA title and continue his impressive winning season.
Over the course of the 2015 rodeo season Cust has dominated the competition all over the province picking up huge wins in Ponoka, Airdrie, Sundre, Bonnyville and Calgary.
Winning back in July at the Calgary Stampede is one of the highlights of his second season competing in novice saddle bronc events.
“It was a goal of mine for sure,” said Cust, of winning at the Stampede. “It was my last year there in novice so there was a little bit of pressure, but it worked out really well.”
Cust says that the ride he posted in the long round at the Stampede sticks out in his mind as one of the more impressive rides of his season.
“(I got) 82 points on a horse that is considered pretty tough to ride,” said Cust. “That was my biggest achievement for the year. That ride really helped me out in the short round to get the win.”
While nothing can top winning at the Calgary Stampede, Cust did mention his time at the Bonnyville rodeo as another event that highlighted his past season.
He rode in Thursday nights action and post a score of 73.00, which was good enough to hold on for the win and land him $543.20.
“I grew up here. I consider Bonnyville my hometown,” said Cust, who lived just down Highway 28 in Ardmore. “To ride in front of that hometown crowd with everyone watching you… it is pretty cool to perform and get (the win).”
The win allowed Cust to redeem himself after struggling during his first appearance at the Bonnyville Rodeo in 2014.
That time around he had two rough rides and didn't fair as well as he would have liked. The first ride saw his horse come out backwards and fall over. Then, on his second ride he was bucked off.
While the win in Bonnyville was his first at the event in his two years as a novice saddle bronc rider, he has won back-to-back titles at several different rodoes throughout the province.
At events in Ponoka, Wildwood and Sundre, Cust is the back-to-back champion having won the novice saddle bronc event in 2014 and again this past summer.
By far the biggest win of his career came last November at the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton.
He came into the event sitting in third place out of three riders, with a championship win in his sights.
On his first ride he placed second with a score of 70.00. The next day he came out with a great ride of 74.00, which was good enough for first place. The third day saw him get “lucky” as his competitor Kennan Reinhardt bucked off and Cust's score of 64.00 held up as the top score of the day. Saturday saw Reinhardt get back on track and post a 74.50, which was slightly better than Cust's ride of 73.00. Saturday evening Cust came out with his best ride of the weekend, busting off a score of 78.00 to take the event.
“My rides were all a little bit tougher than what the other guys were drawing,” said Cust. “Most of my horses turned back and circled around. They really didn't just jump straight. I just tried to do the best with what I had.”
The CFR victory snagged $8,320 for Cust, which more than doubled his season earnings and bumped him up to a total of $14,348 for the year.
Cust will look for another big payday when he goes back to the Canadian Rodeo Finals, this time entering the event sitting in first place.
“It is awesome to get all of these wins, but I never really expected it,” said Cust. “I just went at it and got on as many horses as I could when I was starting out. I felt that if I tried really hard and gave it my all then it might work out.”
Cust has been competing in saddle bronc for the past five years after being introduced to it when he was 16-years-old.
“I went to a bronc riding school when I was 16-years-old. I borrowed a saddle and some gear and ended up liking it,” said Cust. “I worked my way through high school rodeo and just kept going with it.”
Cust says his brother, who also rode for a short time, is a big influence on him. He feels his brother, along with the rest of his family and friends are a big part of getting him to where he is today.
“I'd like to think I have the best support system out of anybody,” said Cust. “It makes a big difference. All summer it helps you get down the road each day.”
This year will be his final year on the novice rodeo scene. While he didn't commit to going pro, he didn't rule out the possibility.
“It is an option for me,” said Cust. “If it goes the way I hope it does I will be riding pro next season.”
Cust will be in action Nov. 11 to 15 in Edmonton looking to repeat as novice saddle bronc champion at the Canadian Finals Rodeo.
