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Meeting Creek’s Layton Green reaching for the stars

Green, who lives close to Bashaw, earned over $43,000 in the month of July
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Meeting Creek’s Layton Green is having one of those seasons where he just doesn’t seem to be stopping bringing in over $43,000 in July. This image was taken at the Calgary Stampede. File photo: Chris Bolin/Calgary Stampede

If you’re looking at how best to define the term—“career year”—you need look no further than Layton Green’s 2017 season.

And by the way, the same strategy might apply to the term “career month.”

In the month of July, the Meeting Creek bronc rider climbed on 12 horses at CPRA sanctioned rodeos. He was first on six of them, (Ponoka long-go and final, Teepee Creek, Morris, Medicine Hat and Bruce) split 1-2 on another (Pollockville long-go) and was second on four others.

Factor in a couple of average wins (Ponoka and Pollockville) and you have a cool $43,547 month for the soft-spoken 23 year-old.

Add in a second place $25,000 cheque and go-round money at the Calgary Stampede, and his PRCA earnings during July and you have, well, a career month.

A spectacular July has the talented second-generation cowboy already at $58,295 (unofficially) in Canadian season earnings. With a couple of months of regular season action and the CFR yet to go, it looks very possible that Rod Hay’s long-standing single season earnings record of $101,646 (2005) might fall victim to Green’s juggernaut run.

Among the most recent of Green’s highlight reel rides was a 90-point effort at Saturday afternoon’s final performance of the Medicine Hat Stampede. Green re-connected with Kesler Rodeo’s Gone Country (the two had met in the long-go at Ponoka for an 85.25 win). This time the two combined for 90 points and another victory.

“He was a lot better with me in Medicine Hat,” Green noted. “He was shorter and jumped higher and bucked harder. He was phenomenal.

“I wasn’t exactly thinking it might be ninety but when it feels that good, the way that one did, you sort of think, ‘I wonder how many points they’re going to give me.’”

Of his amazing month Green said, “When you’re rolling like this, you just want it to keep going. I want to just keep having fun and not change anything.”

Enjoying his first day at home in more than a month, Green admitted the time off was welcome.

“At Cheyenne I was sore and tired. We’d had about seven 20-hour drives in a row and we decided to turn out of Joseph and relax a bit. That really helped when I got to Medicine Hat and Pollockville (where he split the long go, was second in the short go—91.5 points on another old friend—Calgary’s Stampede Warrior for 91.5 points, and won the average) and then Bruce (another win). My shoulder felt way better and I was really ready to go at Medicine Hat.”

With a CFR berth virtually assured and an NFR roster spot all but locked up, Green is looking forward to a slightly more relaxed schedule this fall. “The last couple of years I’ve gone so hard trying to get to Las Vegas but this year maybe I’ll try to take a couple off days to go hunting and just take it a little easier.”

In the meantime you can understand why Green is looking forward to the possibility that August just might start off as well as July ended. His first stop — High Prairie. And the horse he’ll be getting on — Gone Country — one more time.

“I can’t wait,” the number one bronc rider in Canada chuckled.

For complete weekend results go to rodeocanada.com .

Last week saw cowboys and cowgirls making their way to the High Prairie Elks Pro Rodeo Aug. 1 and 2, the Camrose Bulls for Breakfast event, Aug. 3 to 6, the Strathmore Stampede and Heritage Days, Aug. 4 to 7 and Grimshaw’s North Peace Stampede Aug. 5 and 6.