Canadians Looking for San Antonio Rodeo Championships

By Susan Kanode

SAN ANTONIO – Canada was well represented at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo on Wednesday night.

As rodeo contestants have advanced through the bracket system at the 70th annual event, their hopes of winning the coveted San Antonio Rodeo buckle have either increased or been crushed. For a contingent that make their homes north of the border, their chances increased substantially. At the conclusion of Semifinals 1, six of the seven Canadians who competed had secured their spot in Saturday night’s finals.

A highlight of the competition was watching Tanner Milan, from Cochrane, Alberta and Scott Guenthner from Provost, Alberta take the victory lap around the AT&T Center after they had identical times of 3.3 seconds in the steer wrestling. They rode the same steer wrestling horse, and each did the hazing duties for the other competitor. Most importantly, the $4,500 added to their previous earnings got them both spots in the finals. They will be joined by Curtis Cassidy, from Donalda, Alberta.

One of the big money winners in this semifinals was Orin Larsen from Inglis, Manitoba. The bareback rider won the first round, finished second on Wednesday night and has total earnings of $14,500. Larsen won this rodeo in 2016 and would like to add another trophy buckle to his collection. Rising star Connor Hamilton qualified for the rodeo here for the first time this year. The former hockey standout is having a great time proving himself in the rodeo arena. He placed fourth on Wednesday earning $1,500, enough to get him to the finals here in fifth place.

Rounding out the Canadians was Dawson Hay from Wildwood, Alberta. The second-generation bucking horse rider won the first round on Tuesday night. On Wednesday night, he didn’t make it to the whistle, but the $5,000 that he got for his previous first-place finish gave him a total of $10,000 and he will be trying to win his first San Antonio buckle on Saturday.

Semifinals 2 starts Thursday night at 7 p.m. in the AT&T Center. Ten competitors in each of the events will be trying to add money to what they earned in the brackets and advance to Saturday night’s finals.

---

The following are results after the 17th performance of the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo, the 14-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year.

Semifinals 1, Round 2, followed by Finals qualifiers

Bareback Riding: 1, Tilden Hooper, Carthage, Texas, 89 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Yellowstone, $5,000. 2, Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, 86, $4,000. 3, Steven Peebles, Redmond, Ore., 85, $2,500. 4, Connor Hamilton, Calgary, Alberta, 82, $1,500. (Finals qualifiers) 1, Larsen, $14,500. 2, Hooper, $10,917. 3, Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D., $9,750. 4, Steven Peebles, Redmond, Ore., $7,167. 5, Hamilton, $5,250.

Steer Wrestling: 1, Scott Guenthner, Provost, Alberta and Tanner Milan, Cochrane, Alberta, 3.3 seconds and $4,500 each. 3, Trevor Knowles, Mount Vernon, Ore., 3.5, $2,500. 4, Cody Devers, Balko, Okla., 3.7, $1,500. (Finals qualifiers) 1, Knowles, $9,750. 2, Milan, $9,000. 3, Curtis Cassidy, Donalda, Alberta, $8,635. 4, Jacob Talley, Keatchie, La., 4.0, $5,000.

Team Roping: 1, Kaleb Driggers, Hoboken, Ga., and Junior Nogueira, Presidente Prude, Brazil; and Tyler Wade, Terrell, Texas, and Billie Jack Saebens, Nowata, Okla.; 4.6 seconds and $4,500 each. 3, Joshua and Jonathan Torres, Ocala, Fla., 5.1, $2,500. 4, Charly Crawford, Prineville, Ore., and Patrick Smith, Lipan, Texas, 5.6, $1,500. (Finals qualifiers) 1, Crawford and Smith, $9,250. 2, (tie) Driggers and Nogueira; and Wade and Saebens; $8,250 each. 4, Luke Brown, Rock Hill, S.C., and Paul Eaves, Lonedell, Mo., $7,750. 4, Chad Masters, Cedar Hill, Tenn., and Joseph Harrison, Overbrook, Okla., $6,33.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, 89 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Crazy Eyes, $5,000. 2, Bradley Harter, Loranger, La., 85, $4,000. 3, Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas, 84, $2,500. 4, Jake Finlay, Goondiwindi, Australia, 83.5, $1,500. (Finals qualifiers) 1, Harter, $14,500. 2, Dawson Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, Canada, $10,000. 3, Spencer Wright, Milford, Utah, $8,250. 4, Jake Wright, $7,500. 5, Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas, $6,250.

Tie-Down Roping: 1, Tuf Cooper, Decatur, Texas, 7.3 seconds, $5,000. 2, Adam Gray, Seymour, Texas, and Cody Huber, Albia, Iowa, 7.7 and $3,250 each. 4, Ryle Smith, Oakdale, Calif., 7.9, $1,500. (Finals qualifiers) 1, Haven Meged, Miles City, Mont., $10,000. 2, Cooper, $9,750. 3, Tyson Durfey, Brock, Texas, $8,000. 4, Gray, $7,250. 5, Seth Cooke, Milsap, Texas, $7,000.

Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Jessie Telford, Caldwell, Idaho, 13.88 seconds, $5,000. 2, Jimmie Smith, McDade, Texas, 13.97, $4,000. 3, Dona Kay Rule, Minco, Okla., 14.06, $2,500. 4, Callahan Crossley, Hermiston, Ore., 14.11, $1,500. (Finals qualifiers) 1, Rule, $9,750. 2, Crossley, $9,250. 3, Telford, $8,750. 4, Smith, $7,750. 5, Nikki Hansen, Dickinson, N.D., 14.80, $6,500.

Bull Riding: 1, Koby Radley, Montpelier, La., 88.5 points on 4L & Diamond S Rodeo’s Monte Walsh, $5,000. 2, Joseph McConnel, Bloomfield, N.M., 86.5, $4,000. 3, Roscoe Jarboe, New Plymouth, Idaho, 76, $2,500. 4, Jeff Askey, Athens, Texas, 70, $1,500. (Finals qualifiers) 1, McConnel, $14,500. 2, Stetson Wright, Beaver, Utah, $12,500. 3, Radley, $8,250. 4, Jarboe, $7,750. 5, Askey, $5,875.

About the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo:
Established in 1949, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, winner of the PRCA Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year for an unprecedented 14 consecutive times, has grown to be one of the largest and most prestigious single events in the city, with over 2 million visitors entering the grounds each year. The success of the organization is attributed to over 6,000 volunteers who give countless hours to the organization. With community, donor and volunteer support, the organization has donated over $198 million to the youth of Texas through scholarships, grants, endowments, auctions, a calf scramble program and show premiums. For more information, visit sarodeo.com.