Man With A Plan – Ben Robinson Grass Roots Bound

Airdrie, ALTA – September 27, 2017 – Ben Robinson had a plan. A three-part plan.

Three weeks ago it looked like the third generation tie-down roper was in pretty tough in his bid to get to his first Canadian Finals Rodeo.

“I knew I had to really well at Olds first of all,” Robinson acknowledged. And that’s exactly what he did. An 8.1 second run at Oldstoberfest was good for the win and netted the Innisfail cowboy $1837.

“After that I figured I needed to get about $1500 out of Hanna and Brooks to give me a shot at the Grass Roots Final next weekend.” Once again the plan worked as it was scripted. A third place run at the Hanna Indoor Pro Rodeo and a 5/6 split at the Dallas Sunstrum Memorial in Brooks gave Robinson a $1472 weekend and vaulted him into the top ten in the Grass Roots Final standings and a spot on the roster for the Calgary event.

The 22 year-old is aware, as are most competitors, that every year there’s a handful of cowboys and cowgirls that use the Grass Roots event to catapult themselves up the highway to Edmonton for the all-important CFR date in November.

“Two year ago, I missed the Grass Roots Final by a hundred bucks and last year it was a little more than that but not much,” the son of Hall of Famer Larry Robinson noted. Now having that monkey off his back, if Robinson can make the third part of his strategic roadmap work as well as the first two, he just might have to add a fourth component to the game plan—a little CFR strategy.

“I know I have to finish well in the two rounds at Calgary and be pretty high up in the average when it’s over,” he admitted. Although it won’t be an easy task as the other nine guys in the tie down roping are among the best in the game, Robinson is philosophical about his chances. “At least the time I only have to compete against nine guys, not like at a rodeo where there’s forty or fifty.”

With his 14 year-old gelding, Caesar, at the top of his game and practice sessions going well, Robinson will be riding into the Agrium Western Event Centre with a high level of confidence. Not surprising given what he’s done with his last three runs. If he has two more in his arsenal, Grass Roots fans might just be watching one more of the come-from-behind stories that make this event the perfect segue from the end of the regular season the Canadian Finals Rodeo.

And speaking of late season Cinderella stories, there probably isn’t a better one than steer wrestler, Baillie Milan. Six weeks ago, the Cochrane cowboy was sitting 50th in the Canadian standings. Now after a 3-5 split at Brooks gave Milan an $850 cheque he has climbed all the way to ninth place in the standings. And, like Robinson, Milan saw his weekend performance carry to a roster-spot in Calgary as well.

“I always thought it would be cool for all three of us to be at the CFR the same year,” the oldest of the three Milan steer wrestlers mused a few weeks ago.

With Tanner and Straws already solidly among the top five in the bulldogging standings, it looks like that dream too is on the cusp of coming true. Apparently all the hype we hear from announcers and publicists about the drama surrounding the final weeks of the regular season and the Grass Roots Final—well, it looks like there’s something to it after all.

And that drama will be ratchetted up one more time this weekend as Ben Robinson, Baillee Milan and the rest of the Grass Roots qualifiers make their way to the Agrium Western Event Centre for two performances—Friday and Saturday, September 29 and 30 at 7 pm both nights.

Grass Roots Final tickets are available through Ticket Master and at the door. $15 each (12 and under free)

For complete results from the Hanna Pro Rodeo and the Dallas Sunstrum Memorial, head to rodeocanada.com.

About the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association
The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) with headquarters in Airdrie, Alberta 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 September 29-30, 2017 for our 4th Annual Grass Roots Final (at the Agrium Western Event Centre, Stampede Park in Calgary, Alberta) and for 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