2021 CANADIAN FINALS RODEO COVERAGE

It’s exciting that women get another event here in the CPRA and all of pro rodeo. “

~ Kendal Pierson

When Kendal Pierson was crowned the first-ever Canadian Breakaway Roping Champion, her historic victory signalled the beginning of a new day for Canadian women in professional rodeo.

One of the six breakaway roping finalists competing for the first time in the regular performances of the 2021 Canadian Finals Rodeo, the young cowgirl from Wardlow, AB, captured the Canadian title and the aggregate with an overall score of 6.26 seconds in three rounds.

“It means a lot to be the first one, and just to see where it’s going to go,” said Pierson, who spoke highly of the efforts to create more opportunities for women in the sport. “It’s exciting that women get another event here in the CPRA and all of pro rodeo.”

The grade 12 student, who plans to study and rope in the U.S. after graduation, became the 2021 National High School Champion Breakaway Roper earlier in the year. She credits her horse, Smoke, originally purchased as a ranch horse six years ago, as a major part of her winning ways.

“I barrel raced and pole bended on him actually first, and then I started my breakaway roping, and even since then he’s been a key to all my success,” she explained. “He’s my partner, and I wouldn’t be able to be here without him.”

The addition of breakaway roping, which continues to explode in popularity across North America, to the Canadian Finals opens further possibilities for little girls who picture themselves on the professional stage one day. And, as Pierson adds, it’s not just the next generation of ropers who can dream bigger about their futures in pro rodeo.

“Even in our field of breakaway ropers… some of them thought that they were going to be done after college, and now they’re here, roping at the CFR,” she said. “For all ages, it’s just opportunities that no one could have imagined.”

That sense of optimism was in the air as Canada’s top rodeo event returned for its 47th edition at Westerner Park in Red Deer, AB, in November 2021, two years after the last CFR. The excitement for this long-awaited celebration of rodeo was evident in everyone from the fans in the audience to the contestants themselves.

“I’m so grateful for the season we did get to have, and that year off really, really made you think about what rodeo does for you,” said Justine Elliott, the 2021 Canadian Barrel Racing Champion. “It’s just great to be back with everyone again and doing what we love.”

Elliott, who was raised at Lacombe, AB, came into the finals as the 2021 season leader. Riding the two-time CPRA Barrel Racing Horse with the Most Heart, Blondys Starlight (Blondy), Elliott rose to the occasion in a tight race that resulted in her winning the aggregate as well as her first Canadian title.

“I just knew I had to make a clean run, and

Jared Parsonage was the only cowboy to cover five of six bulls during the CFR. Parsonage earned his highest score on Outlaw Buckers’ OLS Tubs Homegrown and was crowned the 2021 Canadian Bulll Riding Champion.

I knew Blondy was going to work good. I just had to help her, and she did it,” she said of the sixth and final round.

Blondy was purchased by Elliott’s brother from the Canadian Supreme sale as a working cow horse hopeful, but the mare hit her stride when she began turning barrels. “She instantly took to it, and she’s literally made the exact same run since she was a four-year-old up to now,” Elliott recalled.

Winning the Canadian championship so close to home added greater meaning to Elliott’s accomplishment. “This pretty well being my hometown rodeo makes it extremely special because I have a whole bunch of friends and family here, and it really does make it a bigger deal,” she said.

“I’ve been dreaming about this since I was probably five-year-old. I truly never thought it was going to happen, but here we are.”

Justine Elliott, 2021 Canadian Barrel Racing Champion.

Veteran Competitors add New Titles to Win Streaks

Just as it was during the 2019 edition of CFR, no one could catch Zeke Thurston in the saddle bronc riding. The reigning Canadian champion and two-time World champion from Big Valley, AB, had the advantage of being the season leader, and after riding all six horses he took home his second Canadian championship and the aggregate. Thurston won two of the six rounds, with his highest score of the week being 88.25 points on Outlaw Buckers’ Little Muffin.

“Kicking it off with a round win, that gets the ball rolling and then you can ride that wave into the rest of the week,” he said. “A big part of it is drawing good. I drew really good – some great horses – and my job is to make good rides on them, and I felt like I did that.”

For Thurston, who was gearing up for his next trip to the National Finals Rodeo at the time, being at the top of his game both physically and mentally play an important role in his bronc riding success. “Staying mentally sharp is probably the hardest thing, to keep your mind frame where you’re at the top and want to be the best in Canada, but the best in the world,” he explained.

“There’s so many good bronc riders everywhere, so many good horses – there’s no shortcuts. You’ve got to do your job and ride good.”

No stranger to the winner’s circle himself, Cody Cassidy captured his sixth Canadian Steer Wrestling title at CFR, tying the record set by his mentor, Hall of Famer Bud Butterfield. Winning the first round and tying for first in the sixth round pushed the veteran cowboy from Donalda, AB, past the rest of the competition, including aggregate winner Justin Miller of Virden, MB.

“I got off to a good start, won the round the first night, and that set the tone and things were going good. And then of course Saturday afternoon, I had a steer that I knew was going to be tricky to catch, and I did everything that I thought I could do. Unfortunately, I ended up letting him slip through my grasp,” Cassidy explained.

“But I came back with two good steers Saturday night and then this afternoon, so that made up for it, and the stars were aligned.”

Cassidy rode the three-time CPRA Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year, Dashin Haze (Tyson), owned by his brother Curtis. Along with the right horse for the job, Cassidy’s mindset was dialled in for competing at this level. “I try to prepare myself more mentally than I do anything,” he said.

“Just because you’re here doesn’t mean you’re going to have the opportunity to win it. You still have to draw good… It can go both ways, but as long as you’re prepared to rise to the occasion when the opportunity presents itself, you’re going to do good.”

As the reigning three-time Canadian High Point Champion, Riley Warren added the 2021 Canadian Tie Down Roping title to his collection of honours. The cowboy from Sundre, AB, was consistent throughout the week, with an aggregate time of 54.8 seconds

Header Clay Ullery and heeler Tyce McLeod were the Team Roping Canadian Champions.

on six rounds to lead that race, too. In the team roping, Warren roped with Steele DePaoli and finished second to Champion Heeler Tyce McLeod.

“It’s been by far my best CFR I’ve had to date,” said Warren. “I just took it one run at a time… I’m extremely happy to get two (titles). It’s not something a lot of guys have done, and I’m just extremely happy to be here and for everyone in the stands to see it, and that we actually had a CFR this year is amazing.”

Warren’s horses played a key role in his strong performance at CFR 47, he said. His tie down roping horse is a 15-year-old mare named Mona. “I actually heeled on her at the last CFR they had here, so she’s been to the finals in two events, and she’s rock solid and a very honest horse,” he said.

He bought his heel horse, Jag, from the loose pen at the Innisfail Auction Market. “He’s turned out to be kind of a special horse. He’s really matured, he’s nine-years-old now, and he’s extremely cowy.”

Clint Laye , 2021 Canadian Bareback Champion.

First-time Canadian Champs Savour Victories

Among the contestants winning their first Canadian titles was bull rider Jared Parsonage of Maple Creek, SK. The only cowboy to cover five of six bulls, Parsonage rode consistently, with his highest score of the week coming in the final round, 87.75 points on Outlaw Buckers’ OLS Tubs Homegrown.

“It seems like it’s been quite a bit of work getting it, so I’m happy to finally get one,” Parsonage said after being named the 2021 champion and aggregate winner.

“The bull riding was tough. It was a good set of bulls all week, and guys stepped up… Today, it kind of was in my hands. I had to ride, stay on to get in there and it all worked out for me.”

While Parsonage was aware of the numbers throughout the week, he placed his focus on the task at hand. “At the end of the day, it’s simple as just get him rode, do a good job riding him and the rest will take care of itself,” he explained. “I knew that it was going to be a good bull riding, and at the same time I expected myself to ride.”

Parsonage, who grew up team roping, had the opportunity to work both ends of the arena professionally in 2021, earning him his first Canadian All-Around Championship. “I’m pretty proud of that,” he said, noting that roping is an everyday skill on his family’s ranch in the Cypress Hills. “It’s one of those things that’s just part of life to me.”

The race for the bareback title came down to the last round, with Clint Laye of Cadogan, AB, emerging victorious. An 87-point ride on C5 Rodeo’s Black Feathers won Laye the final round, pushing him to his first Canadian championship, with only almost $300 separating him from aggregate winner Ty Taypotat of Nanton, AB.

“That kept it so fun,” said Laye, who enjoyed the tight race between the bareback contestants. “What I like to do the most is keep my mind off of it, and when it comes to bareback riding and being at a finals like this… I’m competing against myself.”

The horse that helped him clinch the title made this achievement even more special for Laye. “I couldn’t have picked a better horse,” he said. “Me and that horse, we go way back… Darcy Hollingsworth actually raised that horse, I believe. When I was first starting to ride bareback horses, he would bring it to the practice pen in Stettler, so our careers have been side by side.”

For Laye, who has been a strong contender in the bareback riding for several years, being able to achieve this dream made it a week to remember. “It means everything. I’ve been working my life at one of these,” he said.

“Ever since I was a steer rider, I was trying to get a Canadian title and didn’t get one, and moved into the novice and never got one, and now I’m here at my sixth Canadian Finals and finally made it happen.”

Consistency won the day in the team roping, where header Clay Ullery of Valleyview, AB and heeler Tyce McLeod of Waldeck, SK, came into the Finals in 12th place and moved up through each round to take home the Canadian Championship and the aggregate positions. After an uncertain season and the “complete logistical disaster” of planning to rodeo on both sides of the border, as Ullery described it, winning their first Canadian titles was even sweeter.

“I was rodeoing pretty hard in the States, and Tyce was too, and I didn’t really have a plan on coming up here at all. And then Strathmore (and) Medicine Hat were a go, we came and roped that week,” Ullery recalled. “We actually didn’t win one single dollar that week, and then we decided we’d come up to the last ten rodeos in September and we barely made the finals, and just went from there.”

Despite the rocky road that led them to Red Deer, the two cowboys arrived at the outcome they wanted and were excited about the results of a week of good roping. “It’s amazing. Anytime you become a Canadian champ it feels amazing,” said McLeod. “It’s the greatest thing ever. Best feeling in the world.”

In the novice division, Brodie Roessler of Fairview, AB, won the Novice Saddle Bronc championship, while Cruz McNulty of Biggar, SK, took home the Novice Bareback title. Kane Scott of Condor, AB, came to the top in the Junior Steer Riding championship.

The Calgary Stampede captured two of the stock awards, with Agent Lynx winning the Bareback Horse of the CFR and Wild Cherry winning the Saddle Bronc Horse of the CFR. Sawyer Pro Rodeo’s Train Wreck was named the Bull of the CFR. WHR