It would take much more than a brief shower on the grand entry to dampen the excitement at the Stoney Lake Stampede, and by the time the final drops had fallen Sunday afternoon, four teams of junior wild horse racers were hard at work, entertaining the somewhat damp crowd.
The shower had moved off by the time the bareback bronc riding got underway, with Brandon Stewart of High Level marking a 71 on Les Trach’s feisty T8 to move Saturday’s leader, KC Peterson, down to second place.
Sunday was also the successful day for tie down ropers, with Curtis Butterfield of Ponoka shaving three-tenths of a second off the top Saturday time with a 7.9 for a win, with Jim Gunsch of Thorsby right behind with a 8.0.
Jake Stemo’s Saturday score of 79 held fast to the Junior Bull Riding win, Lane Hehr of Fort Saskatchewan coming closest on Sunday with a 75 aboard Ocean Motion.
The best was saved for last in the steer wrestling, where final competitor Rudy Nieborg of Rimbey clocked in at 4.8 seconds, dashing the hopes of Matthew Mailer of Botha, with a 5.0 earlier in the round, both men faster than Cam Gleason’s benchmark time of 5.2.
Novice Horse saddle bronc riders Layton Green of Meeting Creek, on Little Pheasant, and Zeke Thornton of Big Valley on Pretty Bid, turned in a pair of 71s to split top berth in that event.
Claude Chaussé, with his well-trained pair of black horses and his two border collies, royally entertained the audience with his horsemanship and trick roping exploits during the intermission, before a huge crowd of 10-and-under youngsters tore after a herd of fast-moving calves in the calf scramble. Then the best-dressed youngsters six and under took centre stage for the costume judging, with Ashley Gunsch and Tyler Gorgichuk taking home the Cliff Swedgan Memorial trophies.
Kale McKenzie marked a 71 on Black Beauty to win the Saddle Bronc, with Reed Sparks of Innisfail second with a 70 on Wee Willie in the Sunday performance, moving Saturday leader Clint Cox, with a 67, further back from the pay window.
Sunday afternoon’s barrel racers did their best, but could not match Wacey Hollingsworth’s 15.593 run in the ladies’ division slack. Marlee Branden of Barrhead clocked Sunday’s best junior barrels time with a 16.172, while Charlee Willoughby of Camrose had the best peewee barrels time with an 18.252.
The slack also provided the best time in the team roping, with Tell Flewelling and Riley Warren getting the job done in a rapid 4.6 seconds.
Stoney Lake’s famous Wild Steer Stoneboat Race once again provided ample entertainment for the crowd, as a good number of teams did their best to rope and saddle a wily longhorn and get the critter to pull a competitor on a plywood sled, while a teammate took a few jumps aboard the animal.
The bulls were the clear winners in Sunday’s bull riding, with only three qualified rides, none of them equaling Dallas Turner’s impressive 85 score on Walking Tall in the Saturday performance.
The 48th annual Stoney Lake Stampede boasted the largest lineup of competitors in many years, with brand new bleachers, a mini trade show, pancake breakfast and dance adding up to a very successful weekend.
