Quesnel Ropers and Riders had two chances to sharpen their skills last weekend, a rodeo in Valemont and one in Pritchard, ahead of their hometown rodeo.
In Valemont, the Wills girls were once again on top in junior barrel racing, McKenzie taking first and Lane a tenth of a second behind in second. Another Quesnel rider, Taylor Cherry finished in third.
Cherry moved up two positions in junior pole bending to take first by more than three seconds. Houston’s Carli Wardrop finished in second, followed closely by Cache Creek’s Sofeya Smith.
Alaysha Kushneryk of Hinton took first in pee wee pole bending, followed by Quesnel’s Dyson LeNeve. Cache Creek’s Gracie Antoine took third.
Quesnel’s Clayton Honeybourn beat all comers handily in tie-down roping. Riley Isnardy of Cache Creek followed, two seconds behind, in second. Merritt’s Derek Mobbs rounded out the top three.
Gold Pan resident Steve Hohmann performed well in Valemont, taking a first in saddle Bronc, riding Big Heart. Chilliwack’s Kaila Mussel took second on Mixed Martini, followed by Kamloops’ Ryland DeRose on Kitty Hawk.
Hohmann also took second in bareback, riding Bandit. Jared Marshall of Prince George took first in the category, riding, Ford Cobra.
Marlon Williams of Mt. Currie took first in bull riding, followed by Colton Manuel of 150 Mile in second. Quesnel’s Levi Lawlor took third.
Chad Evenson of Pritchard and Tim Pellam of Langley teamed up to pull down first in team roping. The Houston/Cache Creek team of Kyle Bell and Riley Isnardy took second, followed by Ryan McNaughton of Quesnel and Rod Spiers of Arras taking third.
Savona’s Elly Farmer was the fastest peewee around the barrels, beating Brianna Billy of Williams Lake by half a second. Clay Farmer of Savona came in third.
Cole Scott of Kamloops won steer wrestling. Naramata’s Luke Simonin took second, followed by Rob Everett of 150 Mile House.
Vanderhoof’s Charlie Suffel took first in breakaway roping, followed by Savona’s Troy Gerard in second and 150 Mile House’s Allison Everett in third.
For the junior breakaway ropers, Kyle Bell of Houston took first.
Sarah Gerard of Savona was speedy around the barrels, taking first by a couple tenths over Kelli Pozzobon of Pritchard. Melanie Beeton of Prince George was just a tick too slow, falling into third.
Blaine Manuel of 150 Mile House was the best at steering steers, taking first in junior steer riding. Bell took second, followed by Kamloops’ Jackson Scott in third.
In Pritchard, Hohmann, on the back of Cracka Lack’n, tied with Jared Marshall of Prince George, riding Tycoon, for the top honours in bareback. Williams Lakes’ Matt Klassen took third on the back of Parting Shot.
Honeybourn took first in tie-down roping, followed by fellow Gold Pan Resident Steve Lloyd in second. Pritchard’s own Jake Herman took third.
Merritt’s Cole Scott won saddle bronc on the back of Air Weapon, with Hohmann, on Uncorked, and Ryland DeRose, on Starbucks, tied for 2/3.
Kamloops Cohord Mason took the top honours in steer wrestling. Andre Aspell of 150 Mile took second, followed by Kamloops Jackson Scott in third.
In breakaway roping, Charlie Soffel of Vanderhoof and Jake Herman of Pritchard tied for first. Troy Gerard took third.
Troy Gerard made a two-place jump in junior breakaway roping to first. Quesnel’s Sharla Hancock and Kyle Bell tied in 2/3.
Kamloops’ Laura James rode to the top in ladies barrel racing, followed closely by Monica Oram of Logan Lake. Kirstin Bell of Houston took third.
Cherry made out better in Pritchard than she did in Valemont, taking first in junior barrel racing. Cache Creek’s Sofeya Smith took second, followed by Brett Wills of Kamloops in third.
Continuing with the juniors, Blaine Manuel took first in junior steer riding. Kyle Bell, Jackson Scott of Kamloops and Devon Robbins of Alkali Lake all tied in second/third.
Elly Farmer of Savona was the fastest pee wee around the barrel, followed by Penticton’s Vanessa Cavely in second and Zoey Hemming of Vernon in third.
Next up it’s our time to shine at the Quesnel Rodeo. Git yer boots on Quesnel.
