Williams Lakers are having fun and keeping busy on day two of the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Red Deer, Alta.
Wednesday, the group of 38 from the lakecity, who travelled to attend the rodeo as part of Willie Crosina’s annual bus tour to the national event, made a stop in Ponoka at the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of fame.
Read more: Crosina leading 42nd annual trip to Canadian Finals Rodeo
“We saw gear from Dee Butterfield (formerly Dee Watt of Williams Lake), Rayel Little (formerly Rayel Call of Williams Lake) and the Williams Lake Stampede trophy saddle that Ted Vayro won in 1968, a pic, and a lot of others,” said LeeAnn Crosina, Willie’s daughter and bus trip participant.
The rodeo began on Oct. 30 and runs until Nov. 4 spread across two separate venues at Red Deer’s Westerner Park and ENMAX Centrium.
DAY ONE RODEO RESULTS
Three time Canadian Champion, Jake Vold, didn’t take long to make his mark at the 2018 Canadian Finals Rodeo. The veteran bareback rider marked 85.25 points on Duffy Rodeo’s Tweety Bird, for 85.25 points and the $10,530 first place cheque at Tuesday night’s first performance.
“I was excited when I found out last night that I had him.” Vold explained. “I’ve never been on that horse but wanted to get on him for years. They’ve won a lot of money on him. It’s great just to jump out and have a good start; I’m fresh; I feel pretty good.”
With CFR ’45 set for the first time in Red Deer after 44 successful years in Edmonton, fans and contestants alike are trying out the new venue. and they’re enjoying the experience.
“I’m excited to be here. It’s pretty cool it’s in Red Deer,” Vold observed. “It’s a lot closer crowd, a full house… but at the end of the day, you’ve still got your rodeo fans, everybody comes here to have a good time, and you’re still qualified for the Canadian Finals Rodeo. When you nod your head, it doesn’t matter where it’s at, you’re trying to win first; that’s kind of how I treat it. But it is a bit different, it’s a neat experience. I hope to watch it grow.”
Read more: Bus trip troupe arrives at Canadian Finals Rodeo
Vold wasn’t the only excited competitor on night one. 2016 Canadian saddle bronc champion, Clay Elliott also drew a horse he’d never been on… and collected 86.75 points aboard C5 Rodeo’s Northern Lights for the round win. First time CFR qualifier Kody Dollery, from Caldwell, Texas set the bar high in the steer wrestling with a 3.6 second run while Riley and Brady Minor roped in 4.6 seconds for top money in the team roping. Other winners included Riley Warren and two time Canadian champion, Shane Hanchey, who split the tie-down roping honours (7.8 seconds); bull rider Garrett Green who put together an 87.75 ride on Vold Rodeo’s Mish Mash and 14 year old Taylor Manning who earned first night barrel racing money with a 13.772 second run. Manning’s twin brother and first time CFR qualifier, Tristen, took the win in the steer riding (71 points) while in the novice events, Lucas Macza marked 72 to take an early lead in the novice saddle bronc while season leader Colton Ouellette marked 69.5 to win the novice bareback riding.
The second performance of the Canadian Finals Rodeo is set for tonight, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. Complete results are posted at rodeocanada.com.
