Goodwin Enjoys a ‘Sonny’ Result on a Rainy Weekend

Airdrie, ALTA – June 13, 2017 – Bobbie Goodwin tries not to set barrel racing goals.

But when you’ve won over $5500 before the 15th of June, it’s hard not to at least have a thought about the Canadian Finals Rodeo in the back of your mind.

“It’s something I think about, that’s for sure,” the Cranbrook cowgirl admitted, “but my horse is 16 and he’s really sound and I just don’t want to run the legs off him.” Factor in a two and a half week family vacation to Alaska in July and there’s no doubt that a lot of things will have to go right for the Goodwin team to make the trip to Edmonton in November.

But things have been going right over the last two weekends as the veteran BC hand picked up wins at Leduc last weekend and Lea Park the weekend just ended.

“I tend to go to places that he really likes to run at,” Goodwin said of ‘Sonny’ – registered name Raisin Speedy, a Raise a Native bred gelding. “We placed at Lea Park last year and this time he really cranked first and just worked really well. In fact, I thought my time was going to be faster but then they announced we were leading so that was great.” Goodwin clocked a 16.576 for a $2462 payday.

Sonny is something of a story himself having survived impaling himself on a pole as a five year-old. “The pole went into his body about where the cinch goes and went all the back to the stifle. “We had to lay him down to get the pole out, then he had surgery; it’s a miracle he’s alive,” Goodwin admitted.

But the next year, Sonny had a tremendous Derby season and Goodwin knew she had something special. In fact, although the former Skookumchuck resident has never been to the CFR, Sonny has. Deb Renger leased him from Goodwin and rode him there in 2015 to win two rounds and $27,000 on the miracle horse.

So Bobbie Goodwin knows that things could go rather well if she and Sonny can earn a CFR qualification. “I’ll just have to see how it goes,” she stated. “I’ll go to as many as I think he can handle and especially the ones he tends to do well at. I’d really like to get to the Grass Roots Final in Calgary and see if that could jump us into the twelve that will be going to the CFR.”

One of the rodeos Sonny has excelled at just happens to be Innisfail, a rodeo the duo won two years ago. If history could repeat itself this week, and Goodwin and Sonny can win enough with a limited rodeo schedule, who knows. CFR fans may be cheering the BC gal and her amazing survivor, Sonny, at the 44th Canadian Finals Rodeo.

Other big winners from the Rocky Mountain House, Lea Park and Brooks weekend included Manitoba bareback rider, Orin Larsen, who posted wins at (the returning) Rocky Pro Rodeo – 85 points on Duffy Rodeo’s Blue Jeans for $1264, then added an 85.5 first place finish at Lea Park on the Calgary Stampede’s Wanaka Rocket for another $2039. Team ropers Garrett Rogers of Baker City, Oregon and Jacob Minor of Ellensburg, Washington, runners-up for the Canadian team roping title a year ago, made a big move, winning the Brooks Kinsmen Pro Rodeo with a 4.8 second run for $1329 each, and nailing second place $1250 cheques at Rocky Mountain House with a 4.4.

Stony Plain, Alberta steer wrestler, Derek Frank, clearly wanting to reprise his CFR appearance of 2016, placed at all three rodeos including a three way split of first place at Lea Park with a 4.7 (to equal Matt Richardson and Scott Guenthner) and earn a total of $3033 for the weekend’s work. And in the bull riding, Riker Carter made the trip from Stone, Idaho worthwhile, winning Lea Park with an 85 point score on Franklin Rodeo’s Red Dirt Road for $2063 and picking up the second place cheque at Rocky with an 81 score (behind Stephen Woolsey’s 87 point winning ride) and another $1094 for Carter.

For complete results from the weekend’s action, head to rodeocanada.com

This week the rodeo trail takes contestants to Innisfail for the Daines Ranch Pro Rodeo and to Okotoks for the Big E Round Up Team Roping Special Event.

About the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association
The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) with headquarters in Airdrie, Alta. is the sanctioning body for professional rodeo in Canada. The CPRA approves over 50 events annually with a total payout exceeding $5.1 million. Join us for our Grass Roots Final September 29-30 at the Agrium Event Centre, Stampede Park in Calgary, Alberta and our premiere event – the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) – November 8-12, 2017 at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat at @prorodeocanada, like Canadian Professional Rodeo Association on Facebook, or online at RodeoCanada.com.

Courtesy of CPRA