Many of the local competitors at the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Red Deer are setting themselves up to challenge for a championship buckle.
Ponoka bull riders Zane Lambert and Jordan Hansen were among the five on opening night Oct. 29 to post a score and move up the leaderboard. Lambert earned an 86.5 to take second and climb to sixth in the overall. While Hansen tied for fourth with an 85.25, which helped him hang onto second spot in the overall standings.
The results for Ponoka’s five team ropers weren’t as great though.
Brett Buss and Klay White finished in fifth on the night, leaving them 10th overall, after putting up a quick 4.3 second run.
The Bonnett brothers, Keely and Logan, would have been close to the money, but their 5.0 run doubled to 10.0 seconds after incurring a penalty for catching just one leg.
Meanwhile, Levi Simpson, along with his heeler Riley Wilson, took a no time after Simpson missed with his catch of the steer.
Lacombe’s Justine Elliott increased her lead in the barrel racing with a winning time of 14.510, just four-1ooths of second faster than Angela Ganter of Abilene, Texas. Stacy Ruzicka from Bluffton earned a payday by finishing fifth with a time of 16.641, which leaves her in fourth overall.
Other winners on the night included Spur Lacasse with an 87.25 in the bareback and also leads the overall; Zeke Thurston’s score of 87 in the saddle bronc was just one of four scores that night and increased his overall lead; Consort’s Brenden Laye’s 3.4 second run got him top spot in the steer wrestling though Scott Guenthner of Provost still leads the overall; Dawson and Dillon Graham won the team roping with a 3.9 second run which vaulted them into first place overall; and in the tie-down roping, Haven Meged from Miles City, Montana won the round with an 8.2 run though sits second behind Morgan Grant of Didbury in the overall.
