It was rainy, and it was mucky.
But that didn’t stop roughly 65 participants from enjoying the competition at the Williams Lake Stampede Grounds Saturday at the Central BC Team Cattle Penning Association Finals.
Riders travelled from as far south as Kamloops, and from as far north as Prince George for the event — the wrap-up of the season for the association.
Penners, as teams of three, were rated heading in to the event. The higher the rated rider, the more experienced the rider. Beginner riders are rated a No. 1.
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The total of their ratings was then added together, which allowed them to compete in the various classes which included an open class, a 7 class, a 5 class and a 2+ class, designed for beginners, plus an experienced rider, to help coach.
The winners in the classes were as follows:
Open: Sue Norquay (No. 5), Justin Armstrong (No. 6) and Spencer Gamache (No. 4)
10 Class: Danielle Gamache (No. 4), Gabby Fouty (No. 3), Lee Migvar (No. 3)
7 Class: Micky Bencher (No. 1), Danielle Gamache (No. 4), Len Gamache (No. 2)
5 Class: Dawn Dreher (No. 1), Kim Rempel (No. 2), Laurie Black-Haughton (No. 2)
2+ Class: Justin Armstrong (No. 6), Barbie Multan (No. 1) and Dawn Dreher (No. 1)
One of the CBCTCPA directors, Jon Herrick, who helped organize the event, said despite the weather, everyone had a great time. At the finals, roughly $6,000 in cash was up for grabs.
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“Everyone thought it was a well-run penning and everything went well,” Herrick said. “The Stampede Association was happy with how everything went, and gave us some compliments, but it’s just unfortunate we can’t predict the weather.”
The event was originally scheduled for Aug. 22, however, smoke from wildfires forced the event’s postponement.
